The Digital Nightmare: United World Arc
by Sync The Dragon Tempest
Summary: Time was drawing near. The Chosen now was ready to rescue their friends and fulfill their promises to Origin. Meanwhile, the Lord of Millennium had already made his move. Will they be able to rescue their friends, or will the world fall into chaos once more? Continuation from my previous story "The Digital Nightmare". Main pairings are Patamon x Tailmon and V-mon x OC. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

**A/N: **As I promised, here's the continuation of my old story "The Digital Nightmare". This chapter will contain mostly recap from the Digital Nightmare so you guys don't need to reread it in order to catch up with this story.

This story will be called the United World Arc, and the reason for this name will be revealed later.

Also, this story will use the Japanese names and terms instead of the localization ones. Here's the comparison for some of them just in case you are wondering (note that Japanese names always start from family name, then given name):

Yagami Taichi = Tai Kamiya

Ishida Yamato = Matt Ishida

Izumi Koushirou = Izzy Izumi

Kido Jyou = Joe Kido

Takaishi Takeru = T.K. Takaishi

Yagami Hikari = Kari Kamiya

Motomiya Daisuke = Davis Motomiya

Inoue Miyako = Yolei Inoue

Hida Iori = Cody Hida

Wallace = Willis

Piyomon = Biyomon

Tailmon = Gatomon

V-mon = Veemon

Armadimon = Armadillomon

Qinglongmon = Azulongmon

Ebonwumon = Xuanwumon

Huanglongmon = Fanglongmon

evolve (shinkaa) = digivolve

jogress evolution = DNA digivolve

Also, this story may contain some OOC-ness, and some (if not a lot) grammatical errors (because I come from non-English speaking country). I am very sorry for these inconveniences.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. They are the properties of Toei Animation. Also, there some hints in this story from Persona series, Golden Sun series, and Tales series (but not enough to be regarded as crossover). All of them are the properties of their respective owner.

At last, please consider to review this story if you like it. A word or two that tells how you feel about this story will make me happy, and even better if you can help me improve my writing by giving me some constructive critiques or suggestions.

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**Chapter 0 – Prologue from 'The Digital Nightmare'**

It was started with a nightmare. Our blue dragon Digimon, V-mon dreamed that he was captured by an evil creature called Lord of Millennium, and then he was turned into a weapon to destroy the Digital World.

Soon, V-mon found out that his dream was about to come true, as the evil creature in his dream, Lord of Millennium, somehow managed to break the seal that the Guardians put on him 1000 years ago. He plotted to take revenge on the Guardians. To do so, he sent one of his Millennium Generals, Chimeramon, to infect V-mon with curse seal, which allowed him to take full control of V-mon. Finally, to lure the Chosen Children, and also his target to the Digital World, the Lord of Millennium used his power to increase the Dark Area's activity, resulting huge amount of dark energy emerged from the Dark Area to the Digital World.

As predicted, the Chosen Children came to the Digital World to investigate this peculiarity. In there, they were ambushed and forced to confront Chimeramon. This Chimeramon proved to be too strong for the Chosen Digimon, as he easily overpowered Paildramon, Siphymon, and Shakkoumon. Chimeramon then proceeded to place the curse seal on V-mon, and attempted to eliminate the rest of them before Qinglongmon interrupted. Qinglongmon managed to defeat Chimeramon, and thus saving them all. He, however, was a bit too late as he couldn't stop Chimeramon from infecting V-mon with the curse seal.

Soon, the Chosen Children learned that the curse seal was very difficult to be removed. The only solution available for them was to use the Light, which located at the Sol Sanctum in the Central Hemisphere. Qinglongmon used his power to transport the Chosen Children and their partners to the Central Hemisphere, only to find that the Temple of the Sun was sealed, and collecting the Four Elemental Spirits, namely Sylph, Gnome, Undine, and Salamander was the only way to break the seal.

The Chosen Children then proceed to retrieve the first Elemental Spirit, Sylph, which was located in Zephyr Tower. Venturing inside the Zephyr Tower, the Chosen Children finally met Sylph. At first, Sylph refused to trust the Chosen Children, demanding that she needed to test them to gain their trust. However, Gennai managed to convince her, saying that Qinglongmon trusted them. Even though she was still in doubt, Sylph agreed to join them.

Later, the Lord of Millennium learned that the Chosen Children needed to collect the Elemental Spirits to open the Sol Sanctum and retrieve the Light. To prevent this from happening, he ordered his Millennium Generals to ambush them near the Spirits' locations. He placed Chaosdramon in the Southern Hemisphere, where Salamander was located, Darkdramon in the Western Hemisphere, where Gnome was located, and GigaSeadramon in Northern Hemisphere, where Undine was located.

As they continued to collect the Spirits, the older Chosen decided to help them all. In Digital World, they reunited with their partners, with the exception of Yamato and Sora, as Agumon informed them all that a serpentine Digimon captured them several days ago. This news crushed them all, but they knew that mourning would not solve anything, so they prepared themselves to go to the Southern Hemisphere.

With the 'help' from Zhuqiaomon, the Chosen Children went to Southern Hemisphere. As they approached the Iris' Shrine, they were ambushed by Chaosdramon, and like Chimeramon, this Digimon was very strong. Chaosdramon easily overpowered them, and nearly defeated them. Thankfully, due to strong desire to protect her friends, Silphymon managed to reach her ultimate level, Valkyriemon. Together with Imperialdramon, although he was badly injured, they managed to defeat Chaosdramon.

The Chosen Children ventured deep into the Iris' Temple, where Salamander was located. They met Salamander, the embodiment of fire, but he refused to join them directly. In order to test their strength, Salamander challenged them in a battle. To their surprise, Salamander was more than capable to match them, as he overpowered almost all of the Chosen's partners. In a brink of defeat, Zudomon reached his ultimate level, Plesiomon. The newly evolved Plesiomon then easily defeated Salamander. Admitting his defeat, Salamander agreed to accompany the Chosen Children in their quest to retrieve the Light.

Meanwhile, in the Western Region, two Millennium Generals, Darkdramon and GigaSeadramon joined forces to capture V-mon. They planned to ambush the Chosen Children, and while they were preoccupied with one of them, the other one would strike and capture V-mon. Their plan was success, as GigaSeadramon managed to ambush them and capture V-mon, while Darkdramon held most of them. Daisuke, Ken, and Wallace managed to escape from Darkdramon and gave GigaSeadramon a chase, but were held by GigaSeadramon's henchmen. Meanwhile, GigaSeadramon was ready to deliver V-mon to the Lord of Millennium…

However, something unthinkable happened. As GigaSeadramon travelled back to Millennium Castle, Coronamon and Lunamon, who happened to work as the Guardians' spies, spotted him. They immediately recognized V-mon and proceeded to rescue him. Seeing that GigaSeadramon was in euphoria that he finally caught V-mon, they spotted a chance to outwit him and rescue V-mon. Even though they couldn't do much to harm him, but due to GigaSeadramon's carelessness, they successfully rescued V-mon.

Like the other Millennium Generals, Darkdramon was strong enough to hold his ground against the Chosen's partners. In fact, he managed to defeat most of them, leaving only Plesiomon, Valkyriemon, and Shakkoumon. Determined to protect all of them, Shakkoumon evolved into ClavisAngemon, and together with Valkyriemon, he defeated Darkdramon. As they reunited, Daisuke brought sad news that they couldn't rescue V-mon, not knowing that he was safe with Coronamon and Lunamon.

After regained consciousness, V-mon was greeted by Lunamon. At first, V-mon thought she was one of the Lord of Millennium's henchmen. After took some beating from Coronamon, who happened to be her brother, V-mon admitted that he was wrong and asked them for forgiveness. Coronamon was reluctant to forgive him, but Lunamon managed to convince him to do so. Coronamon then left the room in disgust, leaving only two of them. After some conversations, Lunamon left him to rest, and for some reasons, V-mon started to have feeling on her, quoting that she was as nice as Tailmon.

Back to Gaia's Rock, after taking a night off, the Chosen Children entered the Gaia's Rock, where Gnome was located. After tackling into some riddles, they finally reached the heart of Gaia's Rock. To their surprise, they couldn't find Gnome. Instead, they were attacked by the seven headed snake called Yamata-no-Orochi, and this legendary creature was not a pushover, as it could defeat most of the Chosen's partners. As it was about to finish them, AtlurKabuterimon evolved to his ultimate level, H-Kabuterimon. Using his new power, he managed to defeat it.

Later, the Chosen Children found out that the seven-headed snake they had just defeated was Gnome's alternate form. Gnome then offered to help them, and even more, taught Patamon how to use Reveal, as he insisted that they would need it sooner or later. Gnome then asked Patamon to destroy the Unbreakable Wall by identifying its weak point to ensure that he had learned it successfully. Patamon successfully destroyed it in his first try, which earned Gnome's praise, saying that he expected no less from the hero of the past.

The Chosen then returned to Baihumon's place. As a surprise, they found that V-mon had already waiting for them there. Apparently, Baihumon commanded Coronamon and Lunamon to bring them there so he could reunite with them as soon as possible. Baihumon revealed that Coronamon and Lunamon worked for the Guardians as spies, and that they would join the Chosen Children back to the Eastern Hemisphere, as Qinglongmon had some tasks for them. Lunamon was delighted to hear this, but Coronamon was not very pleased as he knew that his sister had a feeling on V-mon.

So, the Chosen Children returned to Eastern Hemisphere to meet Qinglongmon. There, they were greeted by Tachikawa Mimi and her partner, Palmon. Also, Mimi's friend from America, Michael and his partner, Betamon were there as well. Apparently, Qinglongmon brought them there and explained the current situation to them, and they decided to join the rest of the Chosen. With this, All Chosen Children had reunited, and they were ready to retrieve the final Elemental Spirit, Undine.

As the Chosen Children prepared themselves, Qinglongmon gave a mission to Coronamon and Lunamon to rescue Gabumon and Piyomon. Apparently, Gennai had successfully located them and he would join them for the search. Before they went, they warned the Chosen Children not to bring V-mon to the Northern Hemisphere, as GigaSeadramon would surely plan something to ambush them and capture V-mon. They explained that GigaSeadramon could be more dangerous in the Northern Hemisphere due to the nature of his type. After doing some thinking, the Chosen decided that they would take the risk and bring V-mon along with them.

Just as Coronamon and Lunamon predicted, GigaSeadramon really waited for them near the Aqua Temple. He used his stealth technique to conceal himself so that no one could detect his presence, but eventually Patamon could identify his presence using his newly learned Reveal. However, it was revealed that even though he was discovered before he could launch a sneak attack, GigaSeadramon had already planned something to capture V-mon. He immediately cast an ice spell called Absolute and froze solid V-mon before the rest of them could react. After that, he vowed to destroy the Chosen before he delivered V-mon to his master.

And again, Coronamon and Lunamon were right; in there, GigaSeadramon was indeed very powerful, especially when he fought in that kind of environment. With just one deadly water magic, Maelstrom, he wiped all the Chosen Digimon, including knocked Stingmon out of the battle immediately. So far, only Plesiomon and MegaSeadramon (Michael's partner) who could endure that magic, thanks to their high resistance to water. However, GigaSeadramon's terror had not stopped yet. This time, he whipped up a huge tsunami he called Watery Grave that could swallow everything, including the Chosen Children. As the tsunami washed them, GigaSeadramon knew that no one could survive. He had won, and with V-mon in his hand, surely his master would promote him.

Or had he? As the water level returned to normal, the Chosen Children and their partners still stood unharmed! Apparently, Undine, the embodiment of water, had enough with this. She could not stand still watching someone used water to bring calamity, while it should bring life. Undine then aided the Chosen Digimon fighting GigaSeadramon by granting them immunity to water. With Undine on their side, the Chosen Digimon finally could match GigaSeadramon's power.

As GigaSeadramon was busy dealing with the Chosen Digimon, Undine managed to rescue V-mon from his icy prison, and then healed him. She then helped the Chosen Digimon by providing many assists. Seeing that he couldn't defeat the Chosen Digimon with the constant aid from Undine, GigaSeadramon decided to play dirty by attacking the Chosen Children. Most of the Chosen Digimon were able to rescue their partners in the nick of time, but Lilymon was a bit late when she tried to rescue Mimi. She decided to take a full blow from GigaSeadramon instead.

However, before it could happen, Mimi's Digivice and crest activated the ultimate evolution. As the result, Lilymon evolved into Rosemon. Rosemon managed to stall GigaSeadramon, and after charging enough power, ClavisAngemon unleashed his strongest Zenith Gate attack, which successfully defeated GigaSeadramon for good.

Guided by Undine, the Chosen entered the Aqua Temple, where Undine joined immediately. However, before they returned to Xuanwumon, Undine insisted that at least one of the Chosen learned Arid Heat, an ancient technique that could be used to drain standing water. Seeing the technique's restriction, Undine decided that only Agumon and V-mon could learn that technique. After V-mon regained consciousness, Undine proceeded to teach them Arid Heat. Both of them learned that technique successfully, although it took Agumon twice to completely pass Undine's test, while V-mon did it in just one try.

While the Chosen had successfully completed their objective, things weren't going smoothly for Coronamon, Lunamon, and Gennai. As they travelled deep into Dark Area, where Gabumon and Piyomon were held prisoners, they encountered the Guardian of Dark Area, the Reaper. The Reaper easily overpowered them, and nearly killed them. However, before the Reaper could finish them all, Gennai sacrificed himself to save Coronamon and Lunamon, saying that the Chosen Children would need their assistance. At first, Coronamon and Lunamon protested Gennai's decision, but seeing there wasn't any other way, they reluctantly left Gennai and began seeking for the Chosen Children.

Back to the Chosen Children, as they completed their quest of gathering the four elemental spirits, they returned to the Qinglongmon's place. Before they went to the Center Hemisphere, as they took a rest, Sylph taught Armadimon the Sand technique, while Salamander taught Agumon and V-mon several fire-based magic.

Meanwhile, thanks to his new technique, Patamon started to sense something wrong, as he felt huge amount of darkness gathering somewhere in the Digital World. The same applied to Hikari. As child of light, she was more sensitive to darkness more than others. However, V-mon knew that Millenniumon was the only possible source, as he could feel his curse seal was growing faster than ever. V-mon knew that his time was not much, but he couldn't bear to tell the others, as he didn't want them losing hope. He tried to tell Qinglongmon about this, but unfortunately, the great dragon didn't take this matter seriously.

After doing some preparation, Qinglongmon sent the Chosen Children and their partners directly to the Sol Sanctum. As V-mon predicted before, Millenniumon was there to launch a sneak attack. Millenniumon proved to be too much for them. With just one devastating attack, Big Bang, Millenniumon wiped all of the Chosen Digimon, excluding V-mon, which was asked to stay back, and critically wounded the Four Spirits. Millenniumon then threatened to delete the Four Spirits with his Dimension Destroyer before V-mon intervened, saying that he would go with him, providing that the hybrid Digimon let all his friends alive. Millenniumon accepted this exchange offer, and released the Four Spirits, and then proceeded to capture V-mon.

The Four Spirits then used their remaining power to save the Chosen Digimon, who were badly injured by Millenniumon. As they took a rest, Agumon heard the conversation between the Four Spirits, which involved the appearance of Doomdramon and how they could stop it. They decided that they must help the Chosen Children as far as possible, even though they would break every rule from Huanglongmon. At first, Agumon, and later Patamon, didn't understand what the Four Spirit had planned, but it was revealed in the next morning that they planned to use every last bit of their strength not only to open the Sol Sanctum, but also awaken the power sleeping inside the Chosen Digimon.

At the beginning, the Chosen Children and their partners were reluctant to do this, but the Four Spirits kept insisting, saying that it didn't matter much if they disappeared, as long as the world could be saved. Finally, even though they still disagreed with this, they let the Four Spirits channeled their power to them, and thus unlocking their arcane power. Before they disappeared, the Four Spirits cheered them up, saying that as long as they saved the world, they would meet them again for sure.

As the Chosen saw the Four Spirits disappeared into data, from afar, they saw two familiar creatures. They were Coronamon and Lunamon. Following Gennai's last word, they decided to join forces with the Chosen Children. However, Coronamon noticed that V-mon was gone, and he questioned whether he was captured. He soon erupted in anger as he found out that V-mon was really captured by Millenniumon. He quoted that the past tragedy was about to be repeated, as it meant that Doomdramon was about to be awakened. The Chosen defended themselves, saying that even Qinglongmon didn't mention about this matter. The debate lasted until Lunamon stopped all of them. She reminded them that right now they had to put their mission into priority, rather than fighting over something that had already happened. The Chosen and Coronamon realized that Lunamon was right, and they decided to join forces and entered Sol Sanctum.

Venturing into Sol Sanctum, they saw a lot of familiar puzzles and traps made to protect the Sanctum. Thanks to the ability passed from the Four Spirits and with Ken's aid, they could solve them all until they arrived into the Hall of Sol-Luna, which technically was a dead end unless they had the right key. Much to their surprise, they met 2 V-mon, which had the same appearances and voices with their V-mon. Even worse, they held the key to advance and refused to pass it unless they defeated them in battle. The Chosen questioned why they were against them. To the Chosen's shock, they revealed that they were the replicas of the last living V-mon named V-maru. They also stated that the V-mon that the Chosen knew was also a replica, but he was perfect, unlike them, so they were cast away like trash. They swore that they would not forget this, and for them, it was better that the world was destroyed. Seeing that they could not persuade those V-mon, the Chosen didn't have any other choice than fighting.

Meanwhile, the said V-mon regained consciousness, and he was immediately greeted by his nightmare, the Lord of Millennium himself! The Lord of Millennium then proceeded to torture V-mon, hoping that eventually, V-mon would give himself up so that the Lord of Millennium could activate the Millennium Curse Seal completely. To his surprise, V-mon could endure all of them, and he still hadn't given up yet. The Lord of Millennium then decided to torture V-mon mentally by asking him about his past, as he knew that V-mon didn't know about this. He revealed that V-mon was merely a replica, a substitute for the legendary V-maru. The Lord of Millennium then taunted V-mon, saying that he was just a weapon for the Guardians to win the war, and that they didn't want to see him live freely.

This time, the Lord of Millennium succeeded to break V-mon's concentration to resist the curse seal. As V-mon started to mourn about the meaning of his existence, the Lord of Millennium began the ritual to fully activate the curse seal. As the result, the curse seal was fully activated, and V-mon fell into Lord of Millennium's control.

Back to the Sol Sanctum, the Chosen Digimon were forced to fight with the two V-mon, Sync and Ion, in their Child level (with the exception of Tailmon) because of the restriction placed in that place. Much to their surprise, even though they were in the same level, and were outnumbered, Sync and Ion could wreak havoc to them, as they had access to a lot of ancient magic and arcane techniques. Even worse, they also had access to some Mystics, which technically, were some of the strongest arcane techniques. However, determined to save V-mon as soon as possible, the Chosen Digimon managed to defeat them, earning the key to advance.

Venturing even deeper to Sol Sanctum, the Chosen Children and their partners crossed the Fiery Path. It was actually an active volcano inside the Sol Sanctum. Feeling exhausted, they decided to take a rest in a cave shielded from the heat. As they rested, Coronamon and Lunamon revealed their past to them. They revealed that even 1000 years ago, they needed help from Eternal Orb, which, basically had an ability to manipulate time and space, to subdue Millenniumon's power. They also revealed the fact that the existence of the Light itself was not confirmed yet, but judging from Sync and Ion's action, they were sure that there was really a cure for V-mon hidden deep inside Sol Sanctum.

Overcoming all the challenges, finally the Chosen Children and their partners arrived at the heart of Sol Sanctum. As if it was déjà vu all over again, they were greeted by another V-mon named Zenmaru, who introduced himself as the twin brother of V-maru. Zenmaru explained his role and apologized for his brother's behaviors toward them. Zenmaru proceeded to explain about Eternal Orb and how they could use it to cure V-mon's curse seal. Apparently, they needed Origin's help to forge Eternal Orb. Fortunately, they had already had the materials needed for Eternal Orb, and with Coronamon and Lunamon's abilities to summon Rem and Shadow, they could undo the Origin's Seal. Zenmaru then revealed his true form as Goddramon, and guided the Chosen to the Origin's Slate.

With the help of Zenmaru, Coronamon, and Lunamon, the Chosen Children could awaken the king of Spirits, Origin. Much to their surprise, Origin refused to forge the Eternal Orb for them, saying that the previous pact holder with him, Huanglongmon, betrayed their pact. Seeing the Chosen Children were confused, Zenmaru revealed the secret that was held close for over 1000 years: that their world was really in a verge of destruction due the loss of the mana source, and that the great tree must be restored in order to restore the Digital World into its glory. However, Huanglongmon failed to do that. Even more, he decided to split the Digital World into five parallel worlds in order to preserve the remaining mana. Origin pointed that as an unforgivable sin, and decided that he couldn't trust anyone else with the Eternal Orb.

Just before Origin went back to his slumber, Daisuke pointed that they didn't care whether Huanglongmon really betrayed their pact or not, all that they cared was that they could save V-mon and this Digital World. Takeru pointed that Daisuke was right, and with determination, all of the Chosen Children agreed that they loved Digital World so much that they wanted to protect it. Seeing that their feeling was sincere, Origin said that he would try to believe one more time, and then proceeded to challenge them in battle, as he needed their proof of strength. Seeing that they didn't have any other choice, the Chosen Children and their partners prepared themselves to fight Origin.

Meanwhile, the Lord of Millennium had successfully taken full control of V-mon, and with the aid of stolen Gabumon and Piyomon's data, he made V-mon dark evolving into Doomdramon. Soon, they arrived in Dragon's Gate to greet Qinglongmon. Qinglongmon was shocked as he saw that the Lord of Millennium had awakened the demon dragon, and having no other choice, he engaged Doomdramon. Much to his surprise, Doomdramon could hold his ground against him. Even worse, Doomdramon's attack could severely wound him. At the critical moment, Millenniumon appeared and together with Doomdramon, he successfully defeated and killed Qinglongmon. The Lord of Millennium seemed to be satisfied with this result, and then they took off to the remaining Quadrants to devour the other Guardians.

Back to Sol Sanctum, Origin challenged the Chosen Digimon in battle as a proof of their strength. At the beginning, Origin easily overpowered them with his outstanding weapon skill and extremely strong technique, Collapse. As the battle progressed, the Chosen Digimon managed to distract Origin, and they could cause some damage on him. Realizing that he was losing, Origin unleashed his strongest attack, Rebirth Crusader. All Chosen Digimon were caught on it, thus critically wounding them.

When the Chosen Children thought that they were done for, a miracle happened as Stingmon heard V-mon's voice. He asked Stingmon to protect his friend, and with his DNA, Stingmon managed to reach his perfect level, Dinobeemon, who looked like jogress form of XV-mon and Stingmon, but his insect part was more dominant than his dragon part. With his new power, Dinobeemon engaged Origin, and surprisingly, he could match Origin's skill and speed, and thus distracting Origin from the rest of them. Plesiomon used this chance to use his healing spell, Revitalize, to heal the rest of the Chosen Digimon, and then they joined Dinobeemon battling Origin.

Determining to defeat Origin, the Chosen Digimon used their best combination and managed to stop Origin's movement. WarGreymon then unleashed his new and strongest attack, Dual the Sun, on Origin before degenerated into Agumon. That wasn't enough to completely defeat Origin, but enough to gain Origin's trust. Origin then fused All Digimentals into Eternal Orb, and gave it to the Chosen Children, providing they would defeat the evil lurking in the Digital World, and restore it to its former glory. Zenmaru also gave them a boost which unlocked their abilities to use Mystics and finally, awakened some Angel Skills on Patamon, Tailmon, and Lopmon. With these, the Chosen Children were ready to rescue their friends and finally defeat the Lord of Millennium.

**-End of Prologue-**

Thank you for reading! :)


	2. Chapter 1: Rescue Mission

**A/N: **Here comes the first real chapter.

As usual, I have to remind you that this story uses Japanese names and terms instead of the localization ones, and the comparison between them can be found in the prologue section. The addition are:

Valkyriemon = Valkyrimon

Andiramon = Antylamon

Please bear in mind that this story may contain some OOC-ness, and some (if not a lot) grammatical errors (because I am not a native English speaker). I am sorry for these inconveniences.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. They are the properties of Toei Animation. Also, there are some hints from Persona series, Golden Sun series, and Tales series (but not enough to be regarded as crossover). They are the properties of their respective owner.

At last, if you like this story, please consider to leave me a review. One or two words of you telling how you feel will make me very happy.

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**Chapter 1 Rescue Plan**

_Dark Area Entrance, Desert Oasis…_

In the middle of the oasis, a column of light appeared. As the light faded, the Chosen Children and their partners appeared.

"So, this is the entrance of the Dark Area, huh?" Taichi asked.

"Yes, after we pass that barrier, we will enter the Dark Area," Coronamon nodded, pointing at the black wall outside the oasis, "Hopefully we can make it this time without encountering the Reaper."

"So the Reaper is that fearsome, huh?" Agumon asked, "I bet that if we work together, we will be able to handle him just fine!"

"Yeah, not to mention that Zen has given us new powers," Gomamon added enthusiastically, "I can't wait to try it!"

"Umm, still, it will be the best if we can avoid any unnecessary encounter," Lunamon swetdropped, seeing the Chosen Digimon were very eager to meet the Reaper, "We still don't know what will await us in the Tower of Shadow."

"Yes, surely Lord of Millennium has placed some of his minions there, so we need to be prepared if we want this rescue mission to be successful," Coronamon emphasized.

"Anyway, where is the Tower of Shadow you are talking about?" Koushirou asked.

"It locates near the entrance of Dark Area," Lunamon replied, "We just need to cross the Dark Plains before reaching that place."

"And the Lord of Millennium's palace?" Taichi asked.

"I'm afraid we don't know about it yet," Coronamon shrugged, "It must be located deeper inside the Dark Area."

"Yes, we just need to figure it out later," Lunamon added, "Besides, with Patamon's power, we might be able to find it, as it radiates tremendous amount of dark energy."

"Eh, can I?" Patamon asked anxiously, "But how?"

"If you have fully awakened your Reveal's power, you should be able to," Lunamon replied, "As far as I know; Reveal will also let you to pinpoint locations just by their energy reading."

"Wow, Reveal sure is a useful technique!" Yamato commented.

"Yes, it is a very powerful technique indeed, providing the user could unleash its full potential," Coronamon nodded, "I even heard some rumors that if it is used at its maximum potential, it can predict every enemies' movements without fail, means that you are completely invincible!"

"…However, until now, no one could unleash Reveal's maximum potential, not even the Guardians," Lunamon explained, "But don't worry about that, you don't need to go that far with Reveal, Patamon!" she quickly added seeing Patamon's ears dropped.

"Yes, just do your best, Pata-kun!" Tailmon cheered, which made him blushed a little.

"OK, I will try my best!" Patamon shouted.

"Haha, just don't push yourself too hard, Patamon!" Takeru encouraged his partner.

"So, how's the plan?" Coronamon asked, "Should we go straight there, or do you need to rest first? This is our last chance to recover our strength before we go there!"

"Think it carefully!" Lunamon added, "From what I heard, there are a lot of nasty Digimon there, not just the Reaper, so once we cross that barrier, we might need to fight more than usual."

"Now you mention it," Taichi nodded, "Everyone, what do you say? Should we go straight, or do you need some rest?"

"Of course we go straight!" Daisuke immediately answered, "If we don't hurry, V-mon might be in danger!"

"Basically, I agree with Daisuke, as Gabumon and Piyomon might be in danger too," Yamato suggested, "However, our partners have just fought Origin before. It will be very risky to enter with this condition!"

"Yamato-san got a point here," Koushirou nodded, "They may not have recovered from the last battle yet."

"Don't worry about us, Koushiro-han!" Tentomon shouted, "We can fight just fine!"

"Yeah, thanks to Zenmaru!" Palmon added, "He had healed us before!"

"But still, you hadn't had any rest," Mimi remarked anxiously, "Are you sure you can do it?"

"Yes, we don't want to overdo it!" Iori nodded, "This is a very important mission, and we need to ensure everyone is ready!"

"Iori!" Daisuke tried to scold the younger boy, but Takeru stopped him.

"Daisuke, we understand that you are worried about V-mon, and so we are, but like the Four Spirits mentioned before, it would be very reckless if we moved on unprepared. Surely you don't want any more sacrifice, do you?" he asked the brown haired boy.

"Ugh…," Daisuke gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Don't worry, Daisuke!" Patamon cheered him, "We will rescue V-mon for sure! I will make sure that he will be back with us safely!"

"We will help too!" Hawkmon and Armadimon added, "After all, V-mon is our friend, no, he is an irreplaceable part of our family!"

"So, what do you say?" Taichi asked his junior.

"…I understand, let's take a break first," Daisuke answered, "You guys are right! I was such a jerk that wanted to rush everything. Please forgive me!" he shook his head.

"No problem!" Yamato smiled, "It's only natural that you acted that way. I used to be like you too, so I understand."

"Yeah, don't worry about it!" Ken added, "Together, we will save our friends!"

* * *

_Southern Quadrant, Phoenix's Gate…_

Zhuqiaomon's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he saw: Lord of Millennium! However, he was not alone. Stood before him was a gigantic dragon with a glowing darkness aura, Doomdramon.

"Hmph, I knew it!" Zhuqiaomon growled, "It was a big mistake to trust those children!"

"I'm surprised you still have time to complain about that thing…," Lord of Millennium remarked mockingly.

"Grr, then I don't have any other choice that to eradicate both of you!" Zhuqiaomon growled angrily, "Prepare yourself!"

"Well, well, that was a really nice battle invitation," Lord of Millennium smiled maliciously. Turning to the gigantic dragon, he said, "Shall we, Doomdramon?"

Doomdramon nodded lightly and then charged to Zhuqiaomon. The giant phoenix flew to avoid Doomdramon, and then he flapped his wings vigorously, causing huge explosion around Doomdramon. As the smoke cleared, Doomdramon was nowhere to be seen.

"Humph, at the end, even Doomdramon is no match for me!" Zhuqiaomon shouted, "It's your turn now, Lord of Millennium!"

"My, my, aren't you a bit impatient?" Lord of Millennium's smile widened, "I'm afraid that you need to wait a bit longer before you can face me."

"What do you- ," Zhuqiaomon growled, but before he could finish his sentence, bolts of black lightning dropped over him, electrocuting him in process.

"As you can see, you haven't defeated my little pet," Lord of Millennium smiled maliciously, "In fact, you haven't done anything to him at all!"

Zhuqiaomon's eyes widened as Doomdramon landed beside Lord of Millennium unharmed. Doomdramon then charged his cannon and fired black laser on him, but he quickly crafted a barrier to deflect it.

"Such childish move will not defeat me!" Zhuqiaomon shouted, "Take this, Dire Inferno!"

Following his command, an orange seal appeared above Doomdramon. It unleashed a huge energy ball which exploded in contact. The explosion was so great that it shattered the ground around Doomdramon. To his surprise, Doomdramon was still standing, even though his attack left a lot burn marks on him.

"Guess our host wants to play hard," Lord of Millennium remarked, "Show him what you are capable, Doomdramon!"

"No, you won't!" Zhuqiaomon bellowed, "You will perish in my flame!"

Before Doomdramon could make any movement, he was engulfed by a huge pillar of flame, making him growled in pain. As if it was not enough, the ground below him opened, spouting another pillar of flame before it burst into massive explosion. When the smoke cleared, Doomdramon was barely survived with severe burn marks spreading through his body.

"Humph, it seems that you could survive through my Inferno Drive, but it doesn't matter, I will finish you now!" Zhuqiaomon blurted.

"Now, now, let's not be rushed, shall we?" Lord of Millennium shook his head, "You did a good job hurting my Doomdramon so far, but it doesn't mean that you could defeat him easily!"

"What do you mean!?" Zhuqiaomon growled angrily.

"You will see it! Doomdramon, let's give him a dose of your special attack!" Lord of Millennium commanded.

Before Zhuqiaomon could act, Doomdramon glowed brightly as he charged at super speed to the skies, before transformed into a huge magic circle. Immediately, it shot a huge devastating ray to Zhuqiaomon. The impact was so great that it vaporized everything around him into data.

Zhuqiaomon could only scream in terror as the laser engulfed him. As the ray faded, he could barely move due to his severe injuries.

"Ugh…, that's…forbidden…technique," Zhuqiaomon gasped in pain, "How…could…you…," he coughed in agony.

"Painful, isn't it?" Lord of Millennium laughed maliciously, "Don't worry, I will soon end your suffering!"

"What the-," before Zhuqiaomon finished his speech, Doomdramon fired his laser of darkness at him. The laser pierced his chest, and he immediately burst into data, leaving a glowing red orb.

"Finally, the essence of fire!" Lord of Millennium laughed maliciously as he retrieved the red orb, "Now this area is ours! Millenniumon, tell our armies to help themselves!" he commanded Millenniumon who just appeared behind him.

"…As you wish," Millenniumon replied shortly before he vanished.

"Two down, two to go," Lord of Millennium remarked, "Now, Doomdramon, we will go to the Western Quadrant!" He commanded, ignoring the fact that the gigantic dragon was badly injured. Doomdramon only nodded lightly before he and Lord of Millennium disappeared.

* * *

_Dark Area Entrance, Desert Oasis…_

"So, Sis, do you have any idea to avoid the Reaper?" Coronamon asked his sister, "It is really dangerous, and the last thing we need is another casualties."

"Umm, I'm not really sure it is going to work, but I recall that Shadow has a unique ability that can conceal us from everything. If I am not mistaken, it is called Luna Shade," Lunamon replied.

"Yeah, I have heard about it too," Coronamon nodded, "So, if we can use that technique, the Reaper won't attack us, huh?"

"Probably," Lunamon replied shortly, "However, I really hope that we can avoid encountering it!"

"Yeah, that will be the best," Coronamon replied, "Let's just hope so!"

* * *

"Hikari, are you sure you can do it?" Takeru asked the brown haired girl worriedly. He knew that Hikari was very sensitive to darkness, and they were going to enter the Dark Area.

"Yeah, I think so…," Hikari smiled, "Thank you for worrying about me, Takeru!"

"Listen, I think it is okay to stay back if you can't do it," Takeru remarked, "I will accompany you while the others go there if you want."

"That was very nice of you, Takeru," Hikari replied, "However, I can't just stay still while our friends are in danger like this. I have to conquer my fear, for the sake of our friends!"

"Okay, if you say so," Takeru nodded, "Just don't push yourself too hard, Hikari!"

"Thank you," Hikari smiled again, "Don't worry, as long as you are by my side, I don't fear anything!"

Takeru blushed as he heard this. He knew for sure now that he really cared about her. However, he still hadn't built enough courage to tell her that he loved her. Besides, he didn't want Daisuke became heartbroken because of this.

* * *

"Agumon, what'cha doing?" Gomamon asked Agumon who was doing shadow boxing.

"Training," the orange dinosaur replied shortly, "We need to be prepared before entering the Dark Area!"

"Speaking of Dark Area, do you know anything about it, Agumon?" Gomamon asked.

"How should I know? I have never been there before!" Agumon replied as he continued his training.

"Yeah, I wonder what will wait us there…," Terriermon joined the conversation, "I hope everything will be alright."

"Everything will be alright, Terriermon," Patamon reassured, "After all, we come here to rescue our friends!"

"…I wouldn't be that confident if I were you," they turned to see Coronamon and Lunamon, both had serious look in their face, "Dark Area is not the same as the area you have traveled before."

"Yes, Brother is right," Lunamon nodded, "Like we said before, even though we could avoid the Reaper, we still don't know what has waited us there. I have heard a rumor that a lot of nasty Digimon dwell there."

"Which means that we may have to fight a bunch of nasty Digimon at once," Coronamon added, "We were lucky that we didn't meet them last time, although we were annihilated by the Reaper."

"Don't worry about that," Agumon smiled, "With our new power, we will do the rescue just fine!"

"You are right!" Tentomon nodded, "Speaking of the new power, I wonder what kind of new technique I can use…"

"We will see it later," Patamon remarked enthusiastically, "Actually, I also wonder what kind of angel skill Zen gave me!"

"Me too," Tailmon added, "However, we must remember that we don't go there to exhibit our new power!"

"Yeah, we go there because we want to rescue Gabumon, Piyomon, and V-mon!" Hawkmon shouted.

"And we won't fail! We will rescue them for sure, dagyaa!" Armadimon stressed Hawkmon's statement.

"I will everything to rescue V-mon!" Wormmon shouted, "He has given me a new power, and now it's my turn to help him!"

"…I think we don't have to worry about them, Brother," Lunamon smiled, "With those kind of spirits, I'm sure we will succeed this time!"

"I hope you are right," Coronamon sweatdropped seeing all the Chosen Digimon in high spirit.

* * *

_Much later…_

"OK, I think we have rested enough!" Taichi shouted, "Everyone, are you ready?"

"Anytime!" Agumon shouted energetically.

"We will do it for sure!" Gomamon added.

"We are ready!" the other followed.

"Great, then if you don't mind, Coronamon, Lunamon?" Taichi asked.

"As you wish!" both of them replied, "Everyone, follow our lead!"

So they left the Desert Oasis and before long, they arrived at the entrance of the Dark Gate. Like before, Coronamon drew a strange device and fitted it to the empty space in the gate. The gate let out a loud noise before it disappeared.

"Welcome, Chosen Children, to the Dark Area!" Coronamon remarked, "Now, if you please, Sis?" he added.

Lunamon nodded, and then she started to chant the same spell she used to summon Shadow before. At the end, she shouted, "Grant us the ability to move undetected, Luna Shade!"

Immediately, a thin, purple layer began to form. At the end, the purple layer completely surrounded them.

"What is this?" Koushirou asked.

"Divine Skill, Luna Shade," Lunamon replied shortly, "I create a protective barrier that will hide our presence from the other Digimon and hopefully, the Reaper. This way, we can avoid any unnecessary encounter with the Dark Area Digimon. We need to save our strength for the rescue mission later!" she explained.

"Great, then let's move!" Taichi shouted.

"Just one more thing," Coronamon added, "Keep your ears for the sound of chains! That's the sign of the Reaper! We are still not sure that this barrier will protect us from the Reaper as well, so it will be the best if we move cautiously!"

And then, they travelled cautiously through the Dark Plains, while keeping their ears for the sound of chains. The Dark Area was very quiet that they could hear their own hearts beating.

* * *

_With the Digimon…_

"By the way, Lunamon, I am amazed that such darkness technique could be used for protection. I always think that darkness can only destroy," Patamon remarked.

"Darkness, like the other elements, can be used to destroy and to protect. I think at the end, it depends on its users. If I wish to cause destruction, I can instruct Shadow to do so," Lunamon explained.

"Yeah, you could be right," Tailmon nodded, "Most of our enemies just used darkness to destroy, so we thought darkness can only be used to destroy and cause havoc."

"It's only natural if you think like that," Lunamon smiled, "After all, darkness is often associated with the evil."

"But thanks to you, Lunamon, that we can understand that darkness can also be used for good," Lopmon remarked.

"Well, thanks guys," Lunamon smiled sheepishly, "Let's keep in a good pace, shall we? We are almost there!"

* * *

_With the Chosen…_

"This area is sure creepy…," Miyako commented.

"Yeah, there's darkness everywhere and no sign of life, either," Ken added, "This is just like the Dark Ocean."

"…Would you please not to mention that place again?" Hikari shivered. The intense darkness of the Dark Area sure had significant effect on her.

"Hikari, are you okay!?" Taichi asked anxiously.

"This area is not good for her," Takeru shook his head, "Damn it, I know she should not come with us at the first place!"

"…Please, don't worry about me," Hikari tried to smile, "The rescue mission comes first. I will be fine!"

"Everyone, I think we are almost there!" Koushirou shouted, pointing at the lone tower in the middle of the ravaged field.

"Alright, let's do it!" Taichi shouted, "Hikari, please just wait a bit longer…," he whispered.

* * *

_Western Hemisphere, Tiger's Gate…_

Meanwhile, the Lord of Millennium and Doomdramon had reached the Tiger's Gate. Baihumon shocked as he discovered the fact that the Lord of Millennium had successfully turned V-mon into Doomdramon, and also that two of his comrades had fallen. Baihumon then engaged Doomdramon in a battle, which he easily overpowered him. However, before he could land the finishing blow on Doomdramon, Millenniumon appeared and intervened, successfully weakened him with the Eternal Fatality attack, which he used to stop Qinglongmon. Doomdramon then used his ultimate attack, Cruel Ruins, like the one he used on Zhuqiaomon to eliminate Baihumon, leaving only the Essence of Earth. Now that Baihumon had fallen, the Western Hemisphere fell into the Lord of Millennium's control.

* * *

_Dark Area, near Tower of Shadow…_

"So this is where Gabumon and Piyomon are located huh?" Yamato asked as they approached the Tower of Shadow.

"Yes, according to our spy network's information, they are held here," Coronamon replied, "And hopefully they are still here."

"What do you mean by that!?" Yamato spat angrily.

"Well, you know, if that blue boy can't endure the curse seal, there's a chance that the Lord of Millennium had forced both of them to fuse with that blue boy to make Doomdramon," Coronamon shrugged.

"Now let's try not to think that way," Agumon shook his head, "I'm sure they are okay!"

"By the way, don't you think this is weird?" Patamon intercepted.

"Huh, what do you mean by that?" Takeru asked his partner.

"This is our enemies' territory, and yet we don't see any Digimon guarding this area," the orange hamster Digimon replied.

"Maybe because we are protected by Luna Shade?" Jyou suggested, "They can't sense our presence, right?"

"Yes, it should work that way," Lunamon nodded, "Still, Patamon is right, because I expected some Digimon guarding this tower as well."

"Wait a minute!" Lopmon's eyes twitched, "Can't you hear that?"

"What?" Gomamon asked.

"I think I just heard the sound of…chains, and it's getting clearer and clearer," Terriermon replied.

"No…, it can't be!" Coronamon's face turned pale at once.

"So this barrier doesn't work at all…," Lunamon shook her head.

"What do you mean by that!?" Taichi demanded.

"Let's just move!" Coronamon shouted, "Hurry!"

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Don't you get it!?" Coronamon spat impatiently, "The sound of chains means that the Reaper is approaching us! And the last thing we need is we have to face it!"

"What do you mean by-," Daisuke remarked, but before he could finish, a giant sword of lightning was dropped on him. Luckily Ken was quick enough to realize this, and he managed to push Daisuke out of it.

"We are too late!" Coronamon shouted panicky as he saw a giant creature wielding guns on its both hands. Its body was wrapped by chains, and its face was covered by bandages.

"The Reaper!" Lunamon cried.

"You…escaped…last…time…now…you…won't…escape!" the Reaper's voice echoed. Following it, multiple arrows of light rained down the Chosen and their partners.

"Taichi, get away!" Agumon quickly pushed his partner. The other Digimon were doing the same thing to their partners. The arrows hit them as the result, but thankfully, that attack didn't hurt them too much.

"I can sense it!" Patamon cried, "This creature has insanely high power!"

"We don't have any other choice!" Taichi gritted his head, "Everyone, get ready!"

"Got it!" All the Chosen Digimon responded.

* * *

_Warp Evolution…_

Agumon warp evolved… WarGreymon!

Tentomon warp evolved… H-Kabuterimon!

Gomamon warp evolved… Plesiomon!

Palmon warp evolved… Rosemon!

* * *

_Evolution…_

Hawkmon evolved… Aquilamon!

Armadimon evolved… Ankylomon!

Patamon evolved… Angemon!

Wormmon evolved… Stingmon! Stingmon super evolved… Dinobeemon!

Terriermon evolved… Galgomon! Galgomon super evolved… Rapidmon!

Lopmon evolved… Turuiemon!" Turuiemon super evolved… Andiramon!

* * *

"Iori, let's do it!" Takeru shouted.

"Right!" Iori nodded, and both of them raised their D-3.

"We, too, Hikari!" Miyako followed.

"Yes, we can't just give up!" Hikari, although she was greatly affected by the darkness, shouted bravely.

* * *

_Jogress Evolution…_

Angemon… Ankylomon… jogress evolved… Shakkoumon! Shakkoumon ultimate evolved… ClavisAngemon!

Aquilamon… Tailmon… jogress evolved… Silphymon! Silphymon ultimate evolved… Valkyriemon!

* * *

"Then we will go inside!" Coronamon shouted, "We can't fight as well as you guys, so we will focus on rescuing Gabumon and Piyomon!"

"We will go too!" Yamato shouted, "Right, Sora?"

"Yeah, we will help you too!" Sora nodded.

"Then let's move!" Lunamon remarked.

"Daisuke, Ken, and Wallace, you guys go too!" Taichi shouted, "We will hold the Reaper here!"

"Yes, it will be dangerous if they are ambushed by the other Digimon inside!" Koushirou added.

"But why me?" Daisuke questioned.

"There's a chance that V-mon is also held inside! You go rescue him!" Jyou shouted.

"Jyou-san is right!" Ken remarked, "Let's move, Daisuke!"

Daisuke nodded, and then together with Coronamon and Lunamon, they went inside.

"Everyone, let's show it what we have!" Taichi shouted.

* * *

_Inside the Tower of Shadow…_

"Just what is the Reaper anyway!?" Coronamon grumbled, "How could he see through the Luna Shade?"

"I think it's because I am not strong enough," Lunamon shook her head.

"It's not your fault, Sis," Coronamon consoled her, "He is just too strong for us. Damn it, it should be illegal to be that strong!"

"Then, where should we go?" Yamato asked.

"From what I heard, the prison should be in the top of the tower," Lunamon remarked, "However, that information may not very accurate."

"So we need to search every corner of this place!?" Yamato spat, "We don't have time for that!"

"Hey Daisuke, can we use our D-3 to track them?" Ken asked.

"Hmm, maybe, let's try!" Daisuke replied, and then they tried to use their D-3 to locate their partners.

"I think my D-3 picked some signal," Ken remarked, "It is very weak, but it comes from the underground."

"Then let's search for it!" Yamato shouted.

"…I'm afraid this is as far as you go," a cold, malicious voice echoed from the back of them. They turned to see a large griffin-like creature. He smirked as he saw the surprise expression in their face.

"My Lord is right, after all," he continued, "The Chosen Children will do anything to rescue their friends… How sweet, and how noble, but I can't let you do that! As a Millennium General, I, Gryphonmon, will send you to death!"

"Crap! I forget that the Lord of Millennium still has two Millennium Generals!" Coronamon slapped his head.

"We don't have any other choice!" Ken shouted, "Wallace and I will hold him! Yamato-san, you, Sora-san, and Daisuke should go with Coronamon and Lunamon to rescue Gabumon and Piyomon, and hopefully, V-mon!"

"Don't worry, we will be okay!" Wallace smiled as he read anxiousness from Daisuke's face, "Go rescue them!"

"Right!" Daisuke nodded, and then he joined Yamato and Sora.

"Rescue V-mon!?" Gryphonmon snickered, and then he started to laugh manically, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"It is not funny, you oversized chimera!" Dinobeemon retorted.

"Yes, we will stop you, and then we will save them all!" Rapidmon added.

"Prepare yourself!" Andiramon shouted, and then he charged to Gryphonmon. Gryphonmon flew away to avoid Andiramon's attack.

"Well then, I will enjoy killing you guys, and then my Lord will be very pleased!" he smiled maliciously.

* * *

_On the staircase to underground…_

"We should hurry!" Yamato shouted, "We can't let them fighting Gryphonmon alone!"

"Everyone, this way!" Lunamon remarked, and then they followed her.

"We are almost there!" Coronamon added, but his eyes' widened as they arrived in the basement. There were at least 10 Devidramon waiting for them there. The door to the prison room was located behind them.

"Damn it!" Yamato blurted, "We are so close!"

"Ugh, we will not give up!" Coronamon exclaimed, "Sis, you go with them! I will hold them!"

"Brother!" Lunamon cried anxiously.

"Don't worry, I will be fine…," he smiled, "Now, on the count of three, I will unleash my photon bomb! You guys run as fast as possible, and I will block them from entering the prison! One, two, three…! Go, Photon Bomb!" Coronamon cried as he threw a ball of light on Devidramons. Light exploded, blinding them all, and as the light faded, Lunamon and the Chosen Children were nowhere to be seen, and Coronamon now stood blocking the prison's entrance.

All Devidramon growled angrily as they saw this, and they started to move toward Coronamon.

"Sorry guys, but you are not going to pass me, at least when I am still alive!" Coronamon smirked as they charged into him.

**End of Chapter 1**

****Thank you for reading this story! :)


	3. Chapter 2: Triple Assaults

**A/N: **As promised, here's the second chapter. I will try to update as fast as possible.

Also, I need to do some corrections regarding the previous chapter as listed below:

- First of all, I forgot about Michael and Betamon in the last chapter. As a correction, they are added in this chapter.

- Second, I misspelled 'Antiramon' as 'Andiramon'. This also will be corrected in this chapter.

- Also, for Piyomon's ultimate level, I will stick to Phoenixmon (localization) instead of Hououmon (Japanese), because I think the name Phoenixmon is much better than Hououmon.

This story may contain some OOC-ness, and it may contain some (if not a lot) grammar mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. They are properties of Toei Animation. Also, this story may contain some references to Persona, Golden Sun, and Tales Series (still not enough to be regarded as crossover, though). They are the properties of their respective owners.

Lastly, please consider to review if you like this story. :)

* * *

**Chapter 2 Triple Assaults**

_Dark Area, Tower of Shadow Entrance…_

"Gaia Force!" WarGreymon charged an energy ball, and then threw it to the Reaper. The energy ball exploded in contact, creating a massive explosion.

"That's it!" Taichi cheered, but when the smoke dissipated, the Reaper stood still, unharmed.

"Impossible!" Plesiomon's eyes widened, but he didn't have enough time idling around, as a giant sword of lightning dropped over him. Luckily, he reacted fast enough, so the lightning hit just as he flew away.

"Sanction Storm!" Valkyriemon shouted. Throwing her shield at the Reaper, she raised a tornado. However, the Reaper avoided it by simply disappearing and reappearing at the other place.

"Disappear…Explode!" the Reaper's voice echoed eerily, and without warning, a giant ball of fire dropped at Valkyriemon. Realizing this, Valkyriemon jumped to avoid it before it exploded. Still, the shockwave was able to send her flying.

"Valkyriemon!" ClavisAngemon cried, but before he could act, a large orange seal formed below him. He quickly flew away just in the nick of time, as the seal was soon engulfed by streams of jet flame before it exploded.

"Take this, Zenith's Gate!" ClavisAngemon shouted, opening the Zenith's Gate and unleashing blast of light.

The Reaper simply crafted a barrier, and it could deflect most of ClavisAngemon's attack before it was shattered away.

"Giga Blaster!" H-Kabuterimon shouted, and stream of electricity rushed from his arms and chest.

"Fool…X-Buster!" the Reaper charged his guns, and then he fired a massive laser, just like Imperialdramon's Positron Laser. Both attacks collided in the middle, creating massive explosion. Still, X-Buster was stronger, and it hit H-Kabuterimon, sending him flying.

"H-Kabuterimon!" Koushirou cried.

"Ugh…I'm okay!" H-Kabuterimon grunted, "Damn, it is very strong!"

"Rose Rapier!" Rosemon shouted, elongating her rapier to stab the Reaper, however the death incarnation just crafted a barrier like before, thus deflecting Rose Rapier completely.

"Let's try this! Sorrow Blue!" Plesiomon shouted, releasing strange sound wave. It managed to paralyze the Reaper.

"Everyone, attack at once!" WarGreymon shouted, "Gaia Force!"

"Laser Javelin!" Valkyriemon fired a burst of laser from her shield.

"Zenith's Gate!" ClavisAngemon followed, releasing blast of light from Zenith's Gate.

"Mega Horn Buster!" H-Kabuterimon shot energy blast from his horn.

"Forbidden Temptation!" Rosemon's Tifaret jewel glowed brightly as she sent blast of energy from her head.

All attacks merged into one massive energy ball and it caused giant explosion on the Reaper. The explosion was so great that it vaporized everything nearby.

"Did we do it?" Jyou asked.

"I don't know," Koushirou shook his head, "I can't scan it with my computer. It keeps giving me error message!"

The Chosen Children and their partners couldn't believe what they saw. As the fog cleared, the Reaper was standing still, although it suffered some wounds judging from the scratches and burn marks on it.

"Just what is this guy anyway!?" Taichi shouted in frustration.

"It is very different from the ones that we have faced so far!" Jyou added.

Before the Chosen Digimon could react, a huge ball of pure darkness materialized and it radiated its dark energy on them. The Chosen Digimon screamed in pain as the darkness tore through them.

* * *

_Tower of Shadow, Main Hall…_

"Take this, Speed Slashes!" Dinobeemon shouted, slashing Gryphomon at very high speed.

"Not good enough! Super Sonic Voice!" Gryphomon roared, sending supersonic wave which knocked Dinobeemon away.

"Thunder Javelin!" burst of lightning rushed from MegaSeadramon's horn, however Gryphomon just flew away to avoid it.

"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon fired several missiles at Gryphomon, but he countered with his Super Sonic Voice, which made the missiles exploding before they reached him.

"Treasure Axe!" Antiramon's hand glowed in pink aura, before it transformed into giant axe. He threw it to Gryphomon, who easily deflected it with his horn.

"C'mon, it's that the best you can do?" Gryphomon taunted.

"Damn, he is very strong!" Michael muttered.

"He is an ultimate level Digimon, after all," Ken shook his head, "Even more; he is one of the Millennium Generals."

"But we can't give up now!" Wallace exclaimed, "Rapidmon, Antiramon, get him!"

"You too, MegaSeadramon!" Michael joined.

"Dinobeemon, distract him!" Ken shouted.

"Got it!" Dinobeemon responded, "Speed Slashes!"

"Grr, you annoying insect!" Gryphomon growled angrily as Dinobeemon slashed him multiple times, "Be gone, Super-,"

"Golden Triangle!" Rapidmon quickly followed as Dinobeemon finished his move.

"Ravaged Thunder!" MegaSeadramon fired beam of electricity from his mouth.

"What the-," Gryphomon cried as the combined attack hit him, resulting some burn marks and charred his armor, although not much. As it was not enough, Antiramon appeared in front of him.

"Payback time!" He smirked as he used his Treasure Axe to slash Gryphomon multiple times before he knocked him away.

"That's it!" Wallace cheered, but his cheer vanished as Gryphomon slowly rose again, even though his body was covered by cuts.

"He, he, he, I have to admit that you guys are stronger than I expected. However, that doesn't mean that you can defeat me!" he laughed.

"Everyone, let's attack him together!" Dinobeemon shouted.

"Right!" the others responded, and they charged into Gryphomon.

"How naïve! I'll show you my true power! Descend, God Breath!" Gryphomon shouted. Without warning, all Chosen Digimon were pounded away by a column of pressurized atmosphere. After the attack ceased, all of them were lying in the ground.

"Damn it! We were careless!" Dinobeemon grunted in pain.

"My body feels so heavy, I can't stand!" Rapidmon shook his head.

"N-no, we can't give up now!" MegaSeadramon gritted as he tried to fly, but it was no avail.

Ken and the other Chosen Children were shocked seeing this. They couldn't believe that Gryphomon could knock their partners just by one hit.

Gryphomon smirked and then he walked to the fallen Digimon. Dinobeemon stared at him as he was getting near him.

"Aren't you going to finish us!?" he growled. He tried to move, but it was no avail.

"Let's not be rushed, shall we?" Gryphomon's smile grew larger, "With your condition now, I can finish you anytime I want, but first, I think I will share some information with you. After all, there's nothing better than adding insult to injury!"

"W-what do you mean!?" Dinobeemon winced in pain.

"Don't you want to know about your little friend whereabouts?" Gryphomon smirked evilly.

* * *

_Tower of Shadow, Prison Hall…_

"Damn it, there are too many of them!" Coronamon panted heavily as he dodged Crimson Claws from one Devidramon, only to receive blow from another one, sending him flying to the wall.

"Give it up, child!" one of the Devidramon roared, "Move away, and we might spare your pathetic life!"

"Like the hell I will do it!" Coronamon exclaimed, although he suffered a lot of wounds.

"Then, say goodbye to your sorry life!" Devidramon roared as they advanced toward him.

* * *

_Tower of Shadow, Prison Room…_

"Hurry up!" Lunamon shouted, "This way!"

"So this is the prison cells, huh?" Yamato asked as they arrived in the room with some cells on it.

"Yeah, now let's search for Gabumon and Piyomon!" Lunamon nodded.

"Wait a minute, I think I heard a voice!" Sora remarked.

"Really?" Daisuke asked.

"Shh, quiet!" Sora whispered, "Try to hear it!"

"Ya…ma…to…," the voice echoed faintly.

"That's… Gabumon's voice!" Yamato exclaimed.

"This way!" Lunamon shouted, and they quickly moved to the source of the voice.

As they arrived, they saw a rather large prison cell. Inside it, they saw two silhouettes lying on the ground.

"Gabumon, is that you!?" Yamato cried.

The first silhouette tried to rise, and it whispered, "Ya…ma…to?"

"Yes, it's me!" Yamato smiled, "We come to rescue you!"

"Don't touch the gate, Yamato!" Lunamon warned, "It has electricity running on there!"

"Then what should we do?" Daisuke asked, "We can't let them lying there, can we?"

"Leave it to me!" Lunamon shouted, "I call upon the envoy from the dark abyss. By the right of pact maker, I summon thee. Come forth, Shadow!"

An armored figure with darkness aura materialized in front of them. Shadow then used his weapon to obliterate the prison gate.

"Gabumon!" Yamato quickly run to his fallen partner.

"Piyomon!" Sora followed him.

"Ya…ma…to," Gabumon stated weakly, "Thank…goodness…you're…okay."

"Yeah, we are fine!" Yamato smiled, "We will rescue you!"

"So…ra," Piyomon called her partner.

"Piyomon, I'm here! I am sorry that I can't be there to protect you," Sora remarked.

"It's…okay," Piyomon tried to smile, "I'm…glad…that…you…are…okay."

"It seems that they are quite battered," Lunamon remarked, "I might as well heal them!"

"Can you?" Sora asked.

"Yes, I believe they will need to fight soon," she nodded, and then she started to chant a spell.

"Water of life, please grant us thy protection, Healing Stream!" she shouted, and a blue magic glyph formed below Gabumon and Piyomon, radiating its healing light. Yamato and Sora were relieved seeing their wounds were healed.

"Ugh," Gabumon tried to stand, but he couldn't.

"Take it easy, Gabumon! Here, let me carry you!" Yamato kneeled to carry his partner on his shoulders. Sora was doing the same things for Piyomon.

"Now, let's continue our search!" Lunamon remarked, "We need to find V-mon!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Daisuke nodded.

"No…, you won't find him here!" Gabumon shook his head.

"What do you mean!?" Daisuke demanded.

"The Lord of Millennium has turned him into his slave," Gabumon smiled bitterly, and then as they escaped, he told them about the Lord of Millennium and V-mon.

* * *

_Tower of Shadow, Prison Hall…_

Coronamon panted heavily. He managed to destroy some Devidramon by summoning the Spirit of Light, Rem. However, this made the rest of them even angrier. They now surrounded him.

"That was quite a nice trick you were playing, child!" one of them roared, "Now, say goodbye to your pathetic life!"

The air filled with Coronamon's scream as they slashed him mercilessly. Blood was spewed everywhere as they tore through him.

'_Damn, am I going to die here!?' _Coronamon thought as he was slowly losing his consciousness, _'Sis, I'm sorry!'_

Coronamon then saw the Devidramon retreated as a wolf and a bird chased them away. He could hear his sister calling for him before he lost his consciousness.

* * *

_Tower of Shadow, Main Hall…_

"…The truth is, your little friend is no longer himself! There's nothing you can stop us now!" Gryphomon laughed maliciously.

Dinobeemon couldn't believe what he had just heard. V-mon was under control of Lord of Millennium? It just couldn't be true.

"N-no, it can't be!" Dinobeemon shook his head, "You are telling lies!"

"Take it as you wish," Gryphomon smirked evilly, "You will not be able to see him again anyway, because I will finish you here! Prepare yourself!" he raised his claws to tear Dinobeemon.

Dinobeemon closed his eyes, waiting for the worst. However, it didn't come. Instead, Gryphomon was stepping away. Dinobeemon then saw a cyborg wolf and a humanoid bird stood in front of him. He was relieved to see them. It was MetalGarurumon and Garudamon.

* * *

_Dark Area, Tower of Shadow Entrance…_

The Chosen Digimon were badly battered by the Black Hole. However they couldn't stay still, because the Reaper kept attacking them.

"Brilliant conflagration, Ancient Nova!" WarGreymon shouted. Following his command, the sky above the Reaper opened, shooting a fire beam, exploding in contact.

"Violent wave, Spread!" Plesiomon cried, and the Reaper was engulfed with water column. The Reaper was standing still after receiving those attacks, although its armor was charred a bit.

"Insolent…fool…Demon's…Lance!" the Reaper's voice echoed. Several spears of darkness flew towards Plesiomon, trying to stab him.

"Not a chance! Aurvandil's Arrows!" Valkyriemon shouted, firing barrage of arrows from her bows. The arrows managed to destroy the darkness spears before it hit Plesiomon.

"Let seven colors form a sword of judgment, Prism Sword!" ClavisAngemon cried. A sword of light then descended from the sky upon the Reaper. Again, the Reaper just crafted a barrier to deflect it.

"We need to do something!" Plesiomon panted heavily as he did a maneuver to avoid being burnt by Ignite Prison.

"How about using Divine Skills?" Rosemon suggested as she dodged being crushed by rock avalanche.

"That maybe our last bet!" WarGreymon shouted, "Let's try it!"

"Everyone, distract it while WarGreymon charges his Dual the Sun!" Valkyriemon shouted.

"Got it!" ClavisAngemon shouted, "Divine spears, run my enemies through, Holy Lance!"

Several spears of light flew and stabbed the Reaper. While they didn't do much to the Reaper, it shifted its attention towards ClavisAngemon.

"Spark Wave!" H-Kabuterimon shouted. A mass of electricity appeared before the Reaper and it began to electrocute it.

"Such…fool…Spiral…Flare!" the Reaper's voice echoed once more. This time, it fired huge fire beam toward H-Kabuterimon. Having ready for this, H-Kabuterimon managed to dodge it.

"Air Thrust!" Valkyriemon shouted, creating numerous blades made from wind around the Reaper, before it started to slash it multiple times. Still, it didn't do much, but once again, it shifted its attention to Valkyriemon. However, before it could react, H-Kabuterimon appeared in front of him.

"Take this, Thunder Explosion!" he shouted, stabbing his horns to the ground. Soon, a blast of electricity engulfed the Reaper before it exploded. This explosion managed to send him flying for the first time.

"Ivy Hugs!" Rosemon didn't waste this golden opportunity, stabbing her Rose Rapier to the ground. Multiple vines started to grow, ensnaring the Reaper.

"Now, WarGreymon!" Valkyriemon shouted.

WarGreymon nodded and then he charged two massive energy balls. He then threw them to the Reaper.

"This is the end! Dual the Sun!" He shouted, and both energy balls hit the Reapers, causing even larger explosion.

"Did we do it?" WarGreymon asked as he landed.

"I hope so, but we can't let our guard down!" ClavisAngemon replied.

As the smoke dissipated, the Reaper was still there. It, however, suffered major damage as its armor was completely charred with a lot of burn marks spreading over its body.

"That's it!" Plesiomon cheered, "Dual the Sun works!"

"Then we should try it too!" H-Kabuterimon shouted.

"Then let's distract him once more-," Rosemon added, but she stopped as the Reaper's eerie voice echoed.

"You…did…great…however…can…you…withstand…this?" its voice continued to echo as it glowed brightly.

"Oh no, its aura changed!" ClavisAngemon shouted, "He's going to use its Divine Skill!"

"Too…late!" its voice echoed. Without warning, all of their surrounding turned dark, and a cage of light started to form, trapping all of the Chosen Digimon.

"Farewell…Mystic…Cage!" it exclaimed, and the light cage detonated itself, causing colossal explosion.

* * *

_Tower of Shadow…_

"Tch, I really underestimated you!" Gryphomon spat as he flew to avoid MetalGarurumon's Cocytus Breath.

"Shadow Wing!" Garudamon fired bird shaped shadow to Gryphomon. Gryphomon just barely avoided it.

"Ken! Wallace! Michael!" Yamato exclaimed as he approached them, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, you arrived just in the nick of time!" Ken remarked, "However, we learned some terrible fact."

"Yeah, I know," Yamato shook his head as Daisuke felt silent, "It's about V-mon, huh?"

"How did you know?" Michael asked.

"Gabumon told us everything," Sora replied.

"I'm really sorry about that, Daisuke," Wallace smiled bitterly.

"…It's okay," Daisuke tried so hard not to cry, "We will just have to change him back to normal, right? We have the Eternal Orb, so we can do it!"

"Yes, you are right!" Ken tried to encourage him, "For now, let's focus on this Gryphomon!"

* * *

"Annoying pests!" Gryphomon growled as he was hit by Garuru Tomahawk, "Descend, God Breath!" he cried, summoning the same immense atmospheric pressure pillar over MetalGarurumon and Garudamon. While MetalGarurumon could easily avoid it by using his speed, Garudamon was too slow to react and got pounded by the wind force.

"Then, I will start with you!" Gryphomon smirked as he walked toward Garudamon, "You were lucky my Lord didn't order that blue brat to completely devour you, but I will do it now!"

"Garudamon!" MetalGarurumon shouted as he charged to Gryphomon.

"Don't get on my way!" Gryphomon screamed, "Super Sonic Voice!" he unleashed his supersonic attack, which sent MetalGarurumon flying.

"No! Garudamon!" Sora cried as Gryphomon raised his claws to tear Garudamon. At the same time, the Crest of Love glowed brightly.

"W-what happened!?" Gryphomon covered his eyes as the light of evolution covered Garudamon.

* * *

_Ultimate Evolution…_

Garudamon ultimate evolved… Phoenixmon!

* * *

Sora glanced in awe as a beautiful, phoenix like Digimon replaced Garudamon. She had four shining wings, and two power rings were attached on her legs.

"Grr, so you managed to evolve to your ultimate level!" Gryphomon growled, "It won't change anything at all! I will finish you!"

"MetalGarurumon, let's do this!" Phoenixmon shouted.

"Right!" the cyborg wolf Digimon responded.

"Disappear! God Breath!" Gryphomon shouted, once again summoned a giant pressurized pillar. However, this time, both Phoenixmon and MetalGarurumon managed to avoid it.

"Starlight Explosion!" Phoenixmon flapped her wings vigorously, sending golden powder which caused multiple light explosions as it touched Gryphomon.

"You are finished!" MetalGarurumon shouted, "Grace Cross Freezer!"

Immediately, all the weapon compartments in MetalGarurumon opened, firing numerous missiles. Hitting Gryphomon, they released cold wave that immediately froze him.

"Now, Phoenixmon!" MetalGarurumon exclaimed.

"Life, be thy sustenance and destroy mine enemy, Sacred Shine!" Phoenixmon shouted. Multiple rainbow-colored light streams rushed from her wings. They concentrated into one rainbow colored orb before it unleashed powerful blast that quickly consumed Gryphomon.

"Nooooo, it can't be!" Gryphomon screamed before he dissipated into data.

"That's it!" Sora cheered, "You are great, Phoenixmon!"

"Thank you, Sora!" Phoenixmon remarked, "It is thanks to you that I can evolve! Now I still need to do something."

Phoenixmon then flew to Lunamon, who carried Coronamon on her shoulders. Coronamon was barely alive, with a lot of cuts spreading over his body. She then recited something, and several feathers of light descended into him.

"This…," Lunamon couldn't help shedding tears as she felt the warmth feeling returned to her brother's body.

"With this, at least his life is not in danger anymore, though we need to tend his wounds immediately," Phoenixmon smiled.

"Thank you, Phoenixmon!" the rabbit Digimon cried in happiness.

"Think nothing of it!" Phoenixmon remarked, "It is thanks to his sacrifice that we are saved!"

"More like his recklessness, I guess," MetalGarurumon muttered, "Though I got to admit that he could hold his ground really well, even though he was completely outnumbered!"

"It's kind of reminding me of someone, but never mind, now we still need to help the others!" Yamato stated, "They are still fighting the Reaper outside!"

"Yeah, let's help them out!" Ken remarked as he picked Wormmon. Wallace and Michael were also doing the same to their partners.

As they walked away, unbeknown to them, one Devidramon was watching them. He immediately flew away to inform his master about this.

* * *

_Tower of Shadow Entrance…_

After the explosion cleared, the Chosen Digimon reverted to their child forms (including Tailmon, who reverted into Salamon instead). There were lots of burn marks on their bodies, and they were barely conscious.

"Your…souls…will…be…mine…starting…from…you!" the Reaper slowly approached Agumon.

"Leave Agumon alone, you brute!" Taichi tried to approach his partner, but the Reaper simply fired his guns on him. Luckily he could avoid it.

"I can't lose here…," Agumon gritted his teeth. He stared at the Reaper, which slowly approached him. He could see a magic glyph of pure darkness formed below him, while countless sheets of bright papers were surrounding him.

"Taichi, I am sorry," Agumon closed his eyes, "I guess this is the end…"

"No, Agumon!" Taichi screamed in terror as the glyph glowed brighter.

"Crimson Flame!" suddenly Agumon felt stream of fire burst from behind him. The orange dinosaur Digimon could see that the Reaper quickly stepped back to avoid it. Before long, he could feel somebody picked him.

"Are you okay, Agumon?" his savior asked, and he quickly jumped just before the glyph exploded.

"…MetalGarurumon!" Agumon was relieved to see the cyborg wolf Digimon, "Thank goodness you are saved!"

"Here you are, Taichi!" MetalGarurumon brought Agumon to Taichi, "Payback time now!"

"Everyone, are you alright?" Yamato shouted.

"Sorry for the wait!" Sora added.

As MetalGarurumon and Phoenixmon engaged the Reaper, all Chosen Digimon quickly picked their partners. They were badly injured, and obviously couldn't fight anymore.

"Patamon, are you okay?" Takeru asked anxiously.

"…I'm sorry, Takeru," Patamon replied weakly.

"It's okay, buddy, you were doing great!" Takeru smiled, feeling relieved that his partner was okay.

* * *

"MetalGarurumon, don't give up!" Yamato shouted.

"Cocytus Breath!" MetalGarurumon unleashed stream of icy breath on the Reaper. However, the Reaper simply crafted a barrier to deflect it.

"Starlight Explosion!" Phoenixmon flapped her wings vigorously, sending golden powder which caused multiple light explosion as it touched the Reaper.

"That's it!" Sora cheered.

Phoenixmon's eyes widened as she saw the Reaper wasn't even flinch. Even worse, giant sword of lightning dropped over her, but luckily she was quick enough to avoid it.

"Our regular technique won't work!" Agumon cried, "We need to use Divine Skills!"

"What!?" MetalGarurumon flinched as he heard that, "But how?"

As he said that, a giant stream of laser burst towards him. Having not ready, the laser blasted him, making him reverted into Gabumon.

"Oh no, Gabumon!" Yamato quickly went to his partner's aid.

"This…is…the…end…Hassou…Tobi!" the Reaper's voice echoed. Before Phoenixmon could react, she was blasted by multiple streams of energy waves, which made her reverted to Piyomon.

"Piyomon!" Sora cried.

"Damn it, is this really the end?" Ken shouted frustratingly.

"We have come so far… Are we done now!?" Jyou muttered.

"…No, we can't give up!" Suddenly Patamon tried to break free from Takeru.

"Patamon, stop it!" Takeru shouted as his partner broke free from him.

"…I have promised that I would bring V-mon back together with us! For that, I will not give up!" he cried.

Suddenly, the Eternal Orb started to glow brightly. Its brilliance forced the Reaper to step back from the Chosen Children. As it radiated its light, the Eternal Orb shot beam of light into Patamon. Patamon could feel his power was restored.

* * *

_Warp Evolution…_

Patamon warp evolved… Seraphimon!

* * *

Takeru's eyes widened in awe as he saw his partner transformed into an angel with ten golden wings. It had already been very long since his partner could evolve into his ultimate level.

"Seraphimon, the highest rank angel Digimon," Koushirou remarked as he scanned his data, "His special attack is Seven Heavens, which can destroy evil Digimon in just one hit!"

"Sinner, face your punishment! Seven Heavens!" Seraphimon's voice echoed as he formed seven glowing orbs of light, and then fired it to the Reaper. The Reaper was sent flying by the blast of it.

"Sugoi, Seraphimon is very strong!" Ken remarked.

"You…will…not…interfere…Black…Hole!" The Reaper's voice echoed again as he summoned a huge ball of pure darkness.

"You will not do it again!" Seraphimon shouted as he summoned holy sword Excalibur, and then he miraculously cut the darkness ball, which immediately dissipated into data.

"You are finished!" Seraphimon shouted as a glowing magic glyph formed below him, "Under the shining name of the Lord, may the Light of Judgment fall as rain upon these impure souls. Rest in Peace you who are burdened by sins! Judgment!"

As he finished his chant, the sky opened, and countless columns of light shot from the sky, pelting the Reaper multiple times. The Reaper roared in pain before the final column of light dissipated it into data.

The Chosen Children could just stare in awe. With just one move, Seraphimon could destroy the Reaper. Seraphimon then reverted into Patamon.

"…Can't you believe that? We won!" Taichi shouted.

"You are very cool, Patamon!" Takeru praised his partner.

"Way to go, Pata-kun!" Salamon cheered, which made him blushed.

"I didn't do much," Patamon remarked sheepishly, "The Eternal Orb gave me its power so that I can do it!"

"Wow, seeing the way you can use Judgment, I guess you are really the hero of the past!" Lunamon commented.

"Why, thank you, Lunamon," Patamon couldn't help but smirked.

"Anyway, we need to return to the Desert Oasis," Taichi remarked, "Our partners need to recover before we can make our next move."

"Yeah, you are right!" Yamato nodded, "Aside from Patamon, all our partners were badly injured."

"Then let's go!" Lunamon shouted as she drew a teleport stone. With a bright flash, they vanished.

* * *

_Northern Hemisphere, Turtle's Gate…_

"Oh, I see, the Chosen managed to rescue Gabumon and Piyomon," the Lord of Millennium nodded as Devidramon delivered the news, "Furthermore, Gryphomon was also destroyed. Fine, you are dismissed," he commanded.

"So the Chosen Children have grown stronger in a very short time," he remarked as he saw XuanWumon dissipating into data after being pierced by Doomdramon's darkness laser, leaving only blue orb.

"I guess our next target is the Chosen…," the Lord of Millennium smirked as he picked the blue orb, "Doomdramon, we need to prepare ourselves to entertain them!" he commanded.

The dark dragon Digimon looked hesitated at first, but finally he nodded and followed the Lord of Millennium.

The final battle is drawing near…

**-End of Chapter 2-**

Thank you for reading! :)


	4. Chapter 3: The Chosen's Resolves

**A/N: **here's the third chapter of the united world arc. It took me quite a long time to finish this though because of my busy schedule.

Correction from the last chapter: Actually Salamon's Japanese name is Plotmon, but I think Salamon is the better one. The same is applied to Kerpymon, Cherubimon's Japanese name, as I prefer Cherubimon (because it is closer to its root word, Cherubim).

Because I am not a native speaker, this story may contain some grammar mistakes. I have already tried my best to check it, so please forgive me if there are still some mistakes. Also, due to the high numbers of characters used here, some may get a lot of dialogues while the others may have only a few. I have tried my best to balance them, but you know, it's quite difficult to do so.

Disclaimer: Digimon is the properties of Toei Animation. I don't own anything at all. Also, this story may contain some elements from Tales series, Golden Sun series, and Persona series (although still not enough to be regarded as crossover). All of them are owned by their respective owners.

Lastly, if you have time, please tell me how you feel about this story via reviews. Any kind of reviews are welcomed, including the criticisms. After all, I am still learning.

* * *

**Chapter 3 –The Chosen's Resolves**

_Desert Oasis…_

In the middle of the oasis, a column of light appeared. When the light dissipated, the Chosen Children and their partners appeared.

"Whew, I can't believe we can make it in one piece!" Taichi sighed as he laid his body down in exhaustion.

"Yeah, Patamon really saved our necks there…," Jyou wiped sweats from his face, "Hadn't he evolved, we would have done for sure!"

"For now, let's just rest and tend our partners' wounds," Yamato suggested, "Then we will plan our next movement!"

"Yes, that would be the best!" Koushirou nodded.

* * *

"There you are," Jyou remarked as he finished putting bandage on Coronamon, "He should be okay now."

"Thank you," Lunamon bowed, "We really owe you a lot!"

"Heheh, think nothing about it," Jyou smiled, "We are friends, aren't we? It's just natural that friends help each other."

Lunamon flinched. This was the first time that someone regarded her and Coronamon as friends. She couldn't help but shed tears in happiness.

"Huh, did I say something wrong?" Jyou asked confusedly seeing Lunamon was crying.

"No, I am just happy that you guys regard us as friends," Lunamon smiled.

"Well, well, Jyou, it's not nice to make a young lady crying, you know?" Gomamon appeared from behind and began to tease him, "Don't you know how to treat a lady properly?"

"Wha-, come back here, you-," Jyou responded as Gomamon began to run, and those two ended chasing each other, which made Lunamon sweatdropped.

"Those two always act that way, for your information," Gabumon remarked, "So it's quite normal."

"Yes, Gomamon is our joker of the deck," Agumon added, "Without him, I think our journey will be very boring."

"Agumon, how do you feel?" Gabumon asked, "I was afraid that we were too late to rescue you."

"I am okay, thanks to you," the orange dinosaur Digimon smiled, "By the way, how can Coronamon become badly injured like that?" he proceeded to ask Lunamon.

"I don't know how to describe it, actually," Lunamon shook her head, "In our way to the prison cells, we were ambushed by a bunch of Devidramon. My brother decided to hold them while the rest of us rescued Gabumon and Piyomon."

"Wow, he is sure brave," Agumon stated.

"And reckless, just like you and Taichi did when you two faced Piemon back there," Gabumon commented.

"Hey!" Agumon shouted.

"Yeah, I've got to admit that my brother often acts recklessly like that," Lunamon muttered, "Once he has an idea in his head, no one can stop him. Anyway, I need to look after him, so please excuse me."

"…Similar," Gabumon muttered as Lunamon left them.

"What do you mean by similar?" Agumon asked.

"Coronamon and V-mon, don't you think they have a lot of similarity?" Gabumon asked, "They are both hotheaded and reckless, and yet they willingly sacrifice themselves for the sake of the others."

"So you have heard huh?" Agumon remarked, "About how V-mon sacrificed himself to save us?"

"Yes, Yamato told me about that," Gabumon smiled bitterly, "And to think that a happy-go-lucky Digimon like him has been turned into a monster like that."

"We will free him for sure!" Agumon clenched his fists, "Just like you guys freed me from the Digimon Kaiser back there, I'm sure that we can do the same for him!"

* * *

"Ugh…," Coronamon groaned as he regained consciousness, "…Where am I?"

"Brother!" he heard his sister's voice, "Thank goodness!"

"…Lunamon?" Coronamon asked, "Where are we?"

"In desert oasis," Lunamon replied, "We have successfully rescued Gabumon and Piyomon. In addition, we have successfully defeated the Reaper without any casualty."

"What!?" Coronamon flinched, "The Reaper was defeated? By whom?"

"That would be him," Lunamon pointed at Patamon.

"…Actually, it's not just me," Patamon came closer as he heard his name was mentioned, "The Eternal Orb gave me its power, so I could evolve to Seraphimon."

"But you did it!" Lunamon remarked, "You cast Judgment like you have known it for ages!"

"Judgment?" Coronamon asked, "That legendary angel skill?"

"Yes, the very one," Lunamon nodded.

"So that was the angel skill that Zenmaru passed to me, huh?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah, that angel skill is really strong. But still, I can't believe that you can actually defeat the Reaper by using that angel skill. That skill is not even a Divine Skill!" Coronamon commented, "Ugh, damn injuries, I still can't move!"

"Of course you are!" Lunamon snapped, "You were almost killed back there! You don't know how worried I was!"

"S-sorry, Sis…," Coronamon smirked in guilt, "I think I got carried over!"

"Now do what I say and rest!" Lunamon commanded, "I will try to contact our spies while you do it, and no buts!"

"Y-yes, Ma'am!" Coronamon gulped, and then Lunamon left them.

"Man, my sister can be very bossy sometimes," Coronamon complained.

"Heheh, that's because she cares about you," Patamon chuckled, "Still, seeing you are willingly to sacrifice yourself for the sake of the others reminds me of him."

"Who?" Coronamon asked curiously.

"V-mon, of course!" Patamon answered, "He is just like you, you know, reckless, but he always thinks of the others over himself."

"What!? How dare you compare me with that blue brat!" Coronamon's face immediately turned red, "I am not like him!"

"But that's what I think…," Patamon chuckled, "Now you rest yourself, otherwise, your sister will be very angry!"

"Wha-, get back here, you-!" Coronamon shouted as Patamon flew away.

'_Heheh, now I know why he seems to despise V-mon,'_ Patamon thought, still chuckling, _'He resembles him too much.'_

'_However, V-mon is no longer with us here,' _Patamon thought sadly_, 'Still; I will do everything to free him from the Lord of Millennium's grasp!'_

* * *

"So, what is our next plan?" Jyou asked.

"Now you mention it…," Koushirou remarked, "With no information of V-mon's whereabouts, we don't have any clue where we should go."

"Yes, according to Gabumon and Piyomon, the Lord of Millennium had made V-mon dark evolved into Doomdramon," Yamato added.

"Damn it! We have come this far, and now we are back to square one!" Taichi muttered.

"Not really," a voice echoed from their back. They immediately turned to see Lunamon. She seemed very serious.

"What do you mean?" Miyako asked.

"I have just received some news from our spy network that the Guardians have fallen, and the Lord of Millennium's army has taken control of Digital World," Lunamon explained.

"What!?" all of them exclaimed in unison.

"Yes, it seems that from the beginning, the Lord of Millennium's targets are the Guardians," Lunamon continued, "Our spies also reported that the unknown dragon Digimon accompanying him killed them all."

"So you mean…," Iori gasped.

"Yeah, it could be Doomdramon," Lunamon nodded, "However, his whereabouts is unknown after they destroyed XuanWumon."

"S-so, you are saying that V-mon did it all?" Daisuke demanded.

"Because he is under the Lord of Millennium's control, I can't say whether he did it by his own free will or not, I'm afraid," Lunamon shook her head, "The only sure thing now is the Digital World has fallen into chaos, and with the absence of the Guardians to maintain the balance of the Digital World, it's only a matter of time before it falls into ruins," she added.

"So, what should we do?" Taichi asked frustratingly.

"I'm not sure, but as Origin's request, restoring the Great Sol Tree might save this world," Lunamon suggested, "According to the old legend, the Great Sol Tree has existed even before the Guardians were born, so by restoring it, maybe we can restore the world's balance."

"But how?" Yamato demanded.

"About that, I'm afraid that I don't have any clue," Lunamon shook her head, "I will ask our spies to gather some information about it. Now if you excuse me, I need to speak to our spies," she bowed a little, and then she left.

"Then, what should we do now?" Mimi asked, "I'm getting sick of this!"

"Guess we need to do the same as we did five years ago," Taichi smiled bitterly, "We need to free all the four hemispheres from the Lord of Millennium's grasp!"

"Yes, we need to do that!" Takeru nodded, "After all, the Digital World's future depends on us now!"

"We can do it!" Hikari followed, "No, we have to do it!"

"For the sake of this world!" Sora added.

"To do it, we need to prepare ourselves!" Yamato remarked, "I suggest we spend a night here to rest!"

"I agree, Yamato-san," Ken nodded, "Our partners have not recovered yet."

"OK then, let's plan our next move while our partners rest!" Taichi shouted.

* * *

_Desert Oasis, Nighttime…_

"Salamon, you haven't slept yet?" Patamon asked seeing the small dog Digimon was watching the night sky.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep," she replied, "So the Lord of Millennium has successfully controlled V-mon…"

"Yeah, according to Gabumon and Piyomon, he made V-mon dark evolved," Patamon remarked sadly.

"I can't believe it," Salamon shook her head, "He made our friend into a monster like that."

"I won't give up!" Patamon gritted his teeth, "I will return him to normal, no, together, we will bring him back to normal, without fail!"

"You are really kind, Patamon," Salamon smiled, "You always think everyone above yourself."

Patamon blushed as Salamon said that. He rarely saw Tailmon in this form, and now he realized that she smiled as sweet as Tailmon.

"I-I don't think I am that kind," Patamon stuttered, "V-mon is our friend, so I can't stand still when someone uses him like this!"

"But you are, Patamon," Salamon continued to smile, "Your kindness is the reason why I like you very much. This is for my little hero," she kissed him in the cheek. Patamon's face became completely red as the result.

"I don't know how to tell you, but right now, with you beside me, I feel very happy," Patamon smiled, and then he kissed her in the cheek. Together, they spent their precious moment.

* * *

_Agumon…_

"Agumon, what'cha doing? Can't sleep?" Gomamon asked.

"Yes, there are so many things happened in the last couple of days, and I can't stop thinking of them," Agumon replied.

"Huh, really?" the white seal Digimon tilted his head, "I never thought you are one of the sentimental type," he added jokingly.

"Ugh, thanks for that!" Agumon grunted in annoyance, while Gomamon laughed.

"But you are quite right," Gomamon remarked after he stopped laughing, "So many things happened in the last few days, and he is gone as well."

"You mean V-mon?" Agumon asked.

"Yes, especially because I can't tease him anymore," Gomamon replied jokingly, "But still, our team will not be the same without him," he quickly added seeing Agumon growled in annoyance.

"Yeah, usually, when we are feeling down, he is the one who cheers us," Agumon smiled weakly, "The problem is when we are finally facing him, can we really fight him? I know it can't be helped, but still…," he gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, it's always hard when you have to engage friend in the battle," Gomamon shook his head, remembering the time when WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon had to engage in battle, "However, to free him from the Lord of Millennium's control, we need to do it!"

"Ugh, we don't have any other choice," Agumon grunted, "Especially when I think about how Daisuke feels."

"…It's okay, you don't have to worry about me," Agumon turned to see Daisuke, "I have thought for a long time, and I have resolved that we have to do everything to free V-mon from the Lord of Millennium's control."

"But…," Agumon protested.

"Please don't hesitate to face him, Agumon!" Daisuke remarked, "I'm sure that's what V-mon wants us to do as well."

"…OK, I will try!" Agumon nodded, "I will tell everyone to do so! We have to bring him back with us!"

"Then, rest well, both of you, you will need it!" Daisuke smiled, and then he walked away.

"…It must be hard for him, huh?" Gomamon commented.

"Yeah, when I was under control of Digimon Kaiser, I think Taichi felt the same," Agumon remarked, "Daisuke is right! They could free me because they fought me without hesitation! We have to do it!" he shouted.

"Yes, that's the spirit, Agumon!" Gomamon cheered, "Now, let's rest!"

* * *

_Wormmon…_

"Wormmon, what's wrong? Can't sleep?" Ken asked his partner.

"Ken-chan…," Wormmon remarked, "I still can't believe V-mon is under control of the Lord of Millennium."

"Yeah, I can't believe it, too," Ken shook his head.

"Does that mean we have to face him?" Wormmon asked his partner.

"…Most likely, yes," Ken gritted his teeth, "Sooner or later we will run into him and fight him."

"I don't know if I can face him…," Wormmon's antennae dropped, "He is my best friend, and the last thing I ever want is to engage him in battle."

"We don't have any other choice…," Ken remarked gently, "But I think it is okay if you don't want to fight him. I won't force you to do so."

"Ken-chan…," Wormmon cried. Ken only smiled as he hugged his partner.

"It is okay, Wormmon," Ken whispered, "We will bring him back to normal."

"…Then, when the time comes, I, too, will face him!" Wormmon remarked as he wiped tears from his eyes, "As his best friend, I will do everything to bring him back!"

"Good, but don't push yourself too hard," Ken smiled.

* * *

_Hawkmon and Armadimon…_

"I can't believe that the Guardians have fallen…," Hawkmon shook his head.

"Yeah, and I thought they were invincible, dagyaa…," Armadimon stated weakly.

"And more importantly, sooner or later, we might face Doomdramon," Hawkmon added, "Damn it, can I do it?" he asked frustratingly.

"Yeah, facing our own friend is very difficult, dagyaa," Armadimon nodded, "I thought facing evil spiral MetalGreymon was bad enough, and now we have to face another one…"

"Hawkmon, you don't want to face Doomdramon, do you?" Hawkmon turned to see Miyako.

"I don't know," Hawkmon shook his head, "I know I need to fight him in order to bring him back, but still…"

"Yes, we might hurt him as well," Iori joined them.

"That's what we are afraid of, dagyaa…," Armadimon nodded.

"…We don't have any other choice, either," Iori remarked, "If we don't stop him, more Digimon will be hurt and died. We can't let that happen!"

"I know, Iori! I know!" Hawkmon shouted, "Still, V-mon is our friend, so…"

"It's because he is our friend that we have to bring him back!" Miyako reminded him, "So, for the sake of him, can you do it, Hawkmon?" she asked.

Hawkmon thought for awhile, and then he nodded, "You're right, Miyako, because we care of him, we need to bring him back to normal!"

"I agree, dagyaa!" Armadimon added, "We have to discard any hesitation and fight him with everything we have!"

"That's my partner!" Iori smiled, "Now, let's take a rest, shall we?"

* * *

_Terriermon and Lopmon…_

"It happens again…," Terriermon shook his head, "Just how many times we have to face our friend like this?"

"To think that V-mon actually fell into the Lord of Millennium's control, I still can't believe it…," Lopmon added.

"We need to fight him, just like when you are corrupted by virus…," Terriermon remarked weakly, "Can we do it?"

"We have to do it!" Tentomon remarked as he joined them, "It's the only way to free him from the Lord of Millennium's grasp!"

"I still don't know about it, but I will do it anyway!" Palmon joined, "We don't have any other choice!"

"But we might hurt him as well!" Terriermon protested, "Or even worse, kill him like when we purified Cherubimon!"

"That's the risk we have to face, and I am sure V-mon will understand as well," Tentomon remarked, "When we faced evil spiral MetalGreymon, at first, we also felt hesitated, but we learned that fighting with hesitation would never bring him back, so we were determined to free him, and we succeeded."

"…I guess you are right," Lopmon nodded, "We have to face him no matter what happen, and we will free him!"

"Lopmon!" Terriermon scolded his twin brother.

"I, too, will fight him without hesitation!" they turned to see Michael and Betamon joined them, "As his friends, it is our duty to bring him back to normal, even though it means we have to fight him!"

"It's the only way to free him, so please understand, Terriermon," Wallace joined them as well, "When we had to free Lopmon from the virus, I felt the same. I realized the risk, and yet I chose to do it anyway!"

"…Very well, I think I understand now," Terriermon smiled weakly, "I, too, will do everything to bring him back, because he is our friend!"

* * *

_Gabumon and Piyomon…_

"I can't believe that Doomdramon was strong enough to kill the Guardians," Piyomon shook his head.

"Yes, it's hard to believe that," Gabumon nodded, "And sooner or later, we have to fight him."

"We don't have any other choice, do we?" Piyomon asked, "I don't know if I can fight him."

"But we have to, Piyomon!" Gabumon emphasized, "Otherwise, the Digital World will be destroyed instead. It's just like when we have to free Agumon from Digimon Kaiser."

"Gabumon is right!" Yamato joined them, "We have to fight him without hesitation, otherwise, we can't free him!"

"Yes, I don't want that happen too, but we have to do it!" Sora joined as well, "We have to free him, because he is our friend!"

"Then I will fight too!" Piyomon nodded, "For the sake of him, and for the sake of our Digital World!"

"Good, then you two should take a rest!" Yamato remarked, "We need to prepare ourselves before we make our next movement!"

* * *

_Koushirou…_

"Koushirou-san, can I talk to you?" Lunamon asked.

"Yes, what do you want me to do?" Koushirou asked.

"Here!" the rabbit Digimon handed a memory stick, "This memory stick contains the data which our spies have been gathering so far. In addition, they can send you the updated information through this, so they don't need to see me anymore!"

"Wow, that's great!" Koushirou remarked, "Let me try it!"

As he logged in to his laptop, he inserted the memory stick, and just as Lunamon said, it immediately displayed a wide range of information, including the Millennium's army location.

"This is wonderful, but why did you hand this to me?" Koushirou asked.

"I thought this information would be more useful if I handed it to you," Lunamon stated, "Also, it would be dangerous if our spies kept seeing me or my brother just to deliver the information they have gathered, so we decided to collect our information into this memory stick, and if they find more information, they will send it directly to you!"

"Thanks, Lunamon, this will help us a lot!" Koushirou remarked in joy.

"No problem!" Lunamon smiled, "We will continue to assist you! After all, it is up to you guys to protect this world!" she bowed a little, and then she left.

* * *

_Desert Oasis, Next Morning…_

"Okay everyone, are you ready?" Taichi shouted.

"We are ready!" the Chosen Children and their partners replied in unison.

"Great, now where should we go first?" Taichi asked.

"According to the data Lunamon gave me last night, the Eastern Hemisphere, where our home is located, has the least Millennium army troops compared to the other hemispheres. We might as well start the liberation from there," Koushirou explained.

"I think Koushirou is right!" Yamato commented, "We don't know what have awaited us there, so the less the enemies' numbers, the better our chance to liberate it!"

"I also agree!" Iori added, "Let's start from where we begin!"

"Yes, we will liberate our homeland!" Agumon shouted.

"Great, then let's go!" Taichi shouted.

**-End of Chapter 3-**

Thank you for reading, and please review! :)


	5. Chapter 4: Innocent Sorrow

**A/N: **Chapter 4 is here. Sorry for the delay. Lately I was very busy, so I only had a chance to write on Saturday and Sunday. Still, I will try to update at least once per week.

Like before, I will list some of the change here and new character's Japanese and localization names, including:

- Piccolomon (Japanese) - Piximon (localization)

- Kentarumon (Japanese) - Centarumon (localization)

- Igamon (Japanese) - Ninjamon (localization), however I prefer Ninjamon, so I will use it.

- Kerpymon (Japanese) - Cherubimon (localization), the same, I prefer Cherubimon.

Also, this story may contain some grammatical errors. I have tried my best to minimize them, but as non-native English speaker, I have my limitation regarding this matter.

Disclaimer: Digimon is a properties of Toei Animation. I do not own anything here. This story may also contain some reference to the other anime or games, and I don't own them either. All of them are the properties of their respective owner.

Lastly, please review to tell me what you think about this story. I accept any kind of reviews, and trust me, I will even accept flame, if it could improve my writing. So please review.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – Innocent Sorrow**

_Eastern Hemisphere…_

With a bright flash, the Chosen Children and their partners arrived in the Eastern Hemisphere. They couldn't believe what they saw. Their home had become barren land, with no sign of life at all.

"…I can't believe it!" Taichi shook his head.

"Our home has turned into this!?" Agumon asked in disbelief.

"And to think we have only gone a few days…," Patamon's ears dropped in sadness.

"This is natural," Lunamon remarked, "This is what will happen if one area loses its Guardian."

"Yes, you guys had seen the Central Hemisphere, right?" Coronamon added, "This is just like it!"

"With the absence of Qinglongmon to maintain the mana distribution of this area, the mana flow has stopped for this area," Lunamon explained, "If we don't do anything, soon this area will fall into ruins!"

"But back then, when the Guardians were sealed…," Koushirou protested.

"Yeah, when this area was controlled by the Dark Masters, it was not like this!" Yamato added.

"That situation and this situation are different, I'm afraid," Lunamon smiled bitterly, "Even though the Guardians were sealed, they still could regulate the mana link through the presence of the Destiny Stones. However, if they are destroyed like now, the Destiny Stones will most likely be destroyed as well, as the Guardians' presence are their power source," she explained.

"…So, this would happen if BlackWarGreymon destroyed all Destiny Stones while all Guardians were sealed?" Ken asked.

"You got it right!" Coronamon nodded.

"Damn it, we need to do something, and we have to do it fast!" Taichi gritted his teeth.

"Ah, Coronamon-dono, Lunamon-dono, thank goodness you are here!" suddenly a silhouette appeared in front of them. It was Ninjamon, and he looked very uneasy.

"Who is this?" Jyou asked.

"This is Ninjamon," Coronamon explained, "He is one of our spies."

"Ninjamon, what's wrong?" Lunamon asked.

"We have a bad news!" Ninjamon reported, "The Millennium Troops have pinpointed the Resistance's Base location! They are moving there!"

"This is really bad, indeed!" Coronamon shook his head, "Just how many refugees are there?"

"Almost all who survived the first attack are there!" Ninjamon replied, "Please, you have to help them!"

"Ninjamon is right!" Koushirou remarked, "Right now, a large amount of enemies are moving to one point!"

"Where is that?" Taichi asked.

"Zao Ruins!" Ninjamon answered, "That's where the Resistance is!"

"OK, we got it!" Lunamon remarked, "Good job, Ninjamon! Please continue your search!"

"Roger, Ma'am!" Ninjamon nodded, and then he vanished.

"Alright, let's go, everyone!" Taichi shouted, "We have to save our homeland!"

* * *

_Eastern Hemisphere, Zao Ruins, Resistance's Base…_

"Leomon, bad news!" Piccolomon shouted, "The enemies have spotted our hideout! They are coming here!"

"What!?" the lion-man Digimon eyes' widened.

"This is really bad, indeed!" Andromon shook his head, "We have a lot of refugees here!"

"Hmph, they just can't leave us alone, can they!?" Ogremon spat.

"What should we do?" Kentarumon asked, "Our spies reported that there are approximately 1,000 troops out there!"

"We can't risk the refugees by fighting here…," Leomon remarked, "Very well, Piccolomon, Kentarumon, you two please evacuate the refugees from here, while I, Ogremon, and Andromon are holding them!"

"This is quite dangerous, but we have no other choice!" Piccolomon shook his head, "I will tell Elecmon to evacuate the babies first!"

"Then I will lead the rest of them out here!" Kentarumon continued.

"Great, Andromon, Ogremon, let's go!" Leomon shouted.

"Hmph, I still don't like fighting in the same side of you, but I guess I don't have any other option," Ogremon spat.

"I just hope we can hold them long enough!" Andromon remarked.

* * *

_Outside the Resistance's Base…_

"So this is the Resistance's Base!" one of the Millennium's troops leader, Tankdramon, remarked, "Perfect, once we destroy this, Lord of Millennium will be pleased!"

"Troops, charge! Destroy the base!" the other troops leader, Megadramon shouted, commanding their army, which consisted mostly by Sealsdramon, Devidramon, Tankmon, and Guardromon.

"…Hmm, someone's coming!" Gigadramon remarked as Leomon, Ogremon, and Andromon came out.

"…I will not let you destroy this place!" Leomon remarked coldly.

"You have killed a lot of innocent Digimon, and I will not let you do it anymore!" Andromon added.

"The same goes with me!" Ogremon shouted.

"So, what do you want to do? Fight all of us?" Tankdramon chuckled, and then he started to laugh maniacally, "My, that was some guts you have!"

"We will show you our power!" Leomon shouted, "Let's go!"

"Then we will have the pleasure of killing you guys! Charge!" Gigadramon commanded his troops.

"Fist of Beast King!" Leomon fired a lion shaped energy wave, which immediately took down several Sealsdramon.

"Hao-Ken!" Ogremon fired purple energy wave, and it instantly deleted some Devidramon.

"Spiral Sword!" Andromon fired sword made from lightning. It cut through several Tankdramon.

"Damn it, there are too many of them!" Leomon shouted as he cut down several Guardromon with his Shishiomaru.

"You said it!" Ogremon spat as he made a maneuver to avoid Tankmon's Hyper Cannon.

"Don't give up!" Andromon shouted, "We just need to hold them until Piccolomon and the others finish evacuating the refugees!"

* * *

_Zao Ruins, Secret Passage…_

"Quick, everyone! We are almost there!" Piccolomon shouted as he guided the Digimon refugees.

"Please don't stray from our path!" Kentarumon commanded.

"Can't we take a break?" One of the refugees, Koromon asked, "I am very tired!"

"Here you are!" Kentarumon picked him and placed him on his back, "You can ride on me! We don't have any time to take a break!"

"Are there refugees left?" Piccolomon asked.

"There are still plenty of them!" Kentarumon replied, "Damn it! At this rate, we won't make it in time!"

"Leomon, Ogremon, Andromon, please be safe!" Piccolomon whispered as they continued evacuating the refugees.

* * *

_Zao Ruins Entrance…_

"I'm really impressed," Megadramon remarked as he observed Leomon dodging several Sealsdramon's Death Behind, making them killing each other, "The three of them could hold themselves really well, even though they are totally outnumbered!"

"However, this is the end! Striper Cannon!" Tankdramon fired his missile on Ogremon, which caught him off-guard, and as the result, blasting him out.

"Ogremon!" Leomon shouted, but one of the Sealsdramon caught him off guard as well, stabbing him from behind.

"Leomon!" Andromon cried, "Damn it! Gattling Missiles!" he fired several missiles which instantly deleted the Sealsdramon who stabbed Leomon.

"Resistance is futile! Die!" Gigadramon cried, and at once, all Guadromon and Tankmon launched their Protect Grenades and Hyper Cannons at them.

"Damn it, is this the end?" Leomon coughed in pain.

"No, you can't die before I do!" Ogremon grunted.

"I guess this is the end," Andromon closed his eyes, and immediately followed by one big explosion.

"Hahaha, we have destroyed the Resistance!" Tankdramon laughed, "Lord of Millennium will surely reward us!"

However, as the smoke cleared, he couldn't believe what he saw. Leomon, Ogremon, and Andromon were standing unharmed. In front of them, WarGreymon stood holding his Brave Shield which deflected all the missiles.

"…WarGreymon?" Leomon asked.

"Everyone, are you ok?" Taichi asked.

"Taichi!" Andromon shouted, "You are here!"

"Guess we have made it just in time!" Yamato shouted, "Get them, MetalGarurumon!"

"Leomon, Ogremon!" Mimi called, "Thank goodness you are okay!"

"Mimi?" Ogremon asked.

"Yeah, we come to help you all!" Mimi smiled as the other Chosen Children arrived.

"H-Kabuterimon, help Leomon and the others!" Koushirou shouted.

"You too, Rosemon!" Mimi added.

"Leomon, Ogremon, Andromon, please retreat!" Sora remarked as she got off from Phoenixmon, "We will take of this!"

"Yeah, evacuating the refugees is more important!" Jyou added.

"…Very well, Ogremon, Andromon, let's go!" Leomon remarked as he got back on his feet.

"Roger that!" Andromon nodded.

"Hmph, I still don't like to be commanded like that, but this is an exception!" Ogremon spat, and then they disappeared in the tunnel.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" ClavisAngemon shook his head, "There are so many of them!"

"We have to do it!" Valkyriemon shouted, "For our homeland!"

"Everyone, let's go!" WarGreymon shouted.

"Grr, those annoying Chosen brats!" Tankdramon blurted, "Millennium army, charge!"

"Speed Slashes!" Dinobeemon shouted. He immediately performed quick slashes at several Devidramon, which instantly deleted them.

"Treasure Axe!" Antiramon threw his axe like a tomahawk, deleting every Sealsdramon on its path.

"I beg the light of Heaven to shower thy light upon mine enemies! Ray!" ClavisAngemon cried. A large magic circle materialized in the sky and it started shooting numerous rays of light, eradicating everything on its path.

"Ice coffin, destroy mine enemies! Embrace End!" Plesiomon shouted. A large chunk of ice appeared before several Guardromon before it fell into them, freezing and crushing them.

"Grace Cross Freezer!" MetalGarurumon launched all the missiles inside his body, which instantly froze and destroyed some Tankmon.

"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon shouted, firing his missiles successively, annihilating some other Sealsdramon.

"Punishing Storm!" Valkyriemon threw her shield, and raging storm immediately formed, which destroyed some of them.

"Gaia Force!" WarGreymon charged his energy ball, before throwing it to some of them.

"Giga Blaster! H-Kabuterimon shouted. Streams of electricity rushed from his chest and arms, destroying everything on its path.

"Starlight Explosion!" Phoenixmon flapped her wings vigorously, releasing powder of light which exploded on contact in bright light.

"Blades of ice, pour forth! Freeze Lancer!" MegaSeadramon shouted. Numerous icy blades formed and showered the enemy troops, killing some of them.

"This is the end!" Rosemon shouted, "Spirits that dance in the wind, resound in a chorus of holy exorcism! Fairy Circle!"

Instantly, four butterfly-like fairies appeared. They painted the magical pattern in the ground as they flew. At the end, a giant rune circle formed below the feet of all Millennium troopers.

"…Heaven protect us, and punish those who oppose us!" Rosemon finished her chant, and instantly the seal glowed brightly, before it radiated its holy power. Before long, all the troopers (excluding their commanders) turned into data, while leaving all the Chosen Digimon unharmed even though they were also there.

"Damn Chosen Children! I will destroy you!" Tankdramon cried, "Gattling-"

"I'm afraid you are not going to do it! Ougi: Infernal Ruin!" Antiramon smirked as he appeared in front of him, and then he slammed his Treasure Axe into him. Multiple explosions followed before he sliced Tankdramon in half.

"Open, gate of light! Brightest Gate‼" ClavisAngemon shouted as he used his key to open massive gate above Megadramon and Gigadramon. The gate unleashed huge column of light, completely eradicated them.

* * *

"Is that all?" Taichi asked as their partners returned.

"Yeah, I guess we have finished them all," WarGreymon nodded, "Thankfully they were not too strong."

"Still, it was very coward of them!" Iori growled angrily, "Attacking the innocents using troops like that! I can't forgive them!"

"But luckily we arrived just in time!" Sora stated, "Otherwise, I couldn't imagine how the refugees' condition right now!"

"Then, we should inform Leomon and the others that we have secured this area!" Yamato suggested.

"Yeah, good idea!" Koushirou nodded.

Before they could move, a stream of black laser rushed toward them. The Chosen Digimon were quick enough to secure their partners before it hit them. The laser immediately vaporized the ground upon impact.

"Well, well, let's not be rushed, shall we?" A cold, malicious voice echoed. The Chosen Children eyes widened as they turned to see their nightmare, the cloaked Lord of Millennium. Along with him was a gigantic dragon creature with dark aura.

"Lord of Millennium!" Taichi growled angrily.

"I'm flattered that you have already known my name," Lord of Millennium smirked, "Pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"Cut the melodrama, will ya!?" Daisuke growled angrily, "Give back V-mon to us!"

"Ah, ah, where's my manner? I forget to introduce my little pet!" Lord of Millennium continued to speak, completely ignoring Daisuke, "Meet Doomdramon, my newest ally!"

"He turned V-mon into something like this!?" ClavisAngemon gritted his teeth in anger, "I will never forgive him for this!"

"Ah, temper, temper," Lord of Millennium continued to mock them, "I guess this is the time to have some fun! Shall we, Doomdramon?" he asked the dragon Digimon beside him.

Doomdramon looked a little hesitated, but finally he nodded. He charged into the Chosen Digimon, which immediately scattered to avoid it.

"Let's see if you can defeat this pet of mine!" Lord of Millennium laughed maliciously.

"He called him what!?" WarGreymon growled angrily, "I will make you pay that, Lord of Millennium‼"

"Well, you can unleash your anger on me, if you can defeat my little pet first, of course!" Lord of Millennium laughed manically, "Doomdramon, show them your power!"

Doomdramon nodded, and then he charged his cannon. Stream of dark laser rushed from it. The Chosen Digimon managed to avoid it, thanks to their knowledge about Imperialdramon's technique.

"Damn it, forgive me!" Plesiomon shouted, "Aqua Laser!"

A high-pressure water beam rushed from Plesiomon's mouth. The water beam managed to blast Doomdramon, which caused him roaring in pain.

"Cocytus Breath!" MetalGarurumon breathed his icy wave. Again, Doomdramon roared in pain as the ice beam froze some of his body path.

"Divine Spears, run mine enemies through!" ClavisAngemon shouted. Multiple spears of light appeared and flew toward Doomdramon, but this time he flew to avoid it.

"Gaia Force!" WarGreymon shouted, charging his energy ball, and then threw it to Doomdramon. Doomdramon countered it by firing his laser again. Both attacks met in the middle, causing big explosion.

"C'mon, is that the best you can do!?" Lord of Millennium continued to mock them, "Doomdramon, let's give them your special attack!"

Doomdramon nodded lightly as he charged his cannon once more. This time, he fired a huge ball of darkness from his cannon.

"Everyone, spread!" WarGreymon shouted.

"Got it!" H-Kabuterimon responded. However, as they spread, the dark sphere continued to chase them.

"That dark sphere is a homing one!" Koushirou cried, "Everyone, be careful!"

"Pant, pant, it just won't quit!" Plesiomon panted heavily after he did some aerial maneuvers to avoid being hit by it.

"Let's try this!" WarGreymon shouted, "I'm not sure this will work, but here I go! Dual the Sun‼"

WarGreymon then charged two massive energy balls, and threw it to the dark sphere. The dark sphere exploded as it came in contact with Dual the Sun, causing huge shockwave that sent all Chosen Digimon flying.

As the smoke cleared, Doomdramon was nowhere to be seen.

"Did we do it?" WarGreymon asked.

"I don't know," MetalGarurumon replied.

As the answer, a huge fireball stormed into them. Realizing this, All Chosen Digimon quickly escaped. Rapidmon and Antiramon, however, were too slow, and the fireball hit those two, causing huge explosion. When it cleared, Terriermon and Lopmon were lying there, barely conscious with a lot of burn marks on their bodies.

"Oh no, Terriermon, Lopmon!" Wallace cried as he ran to their aids.

"Well, well, I commend you for destroying my Doomdramon's Black Destiny," Lord of Millennium clapped his hands, "Then this should be very interesting! Doomdramon, show them what you are capable of!"

"Not so fast!" Rosemon intercepted, "Forbidden Temptation!"

The Tifaret jewel in Rosemon's neck glowed brightly, and then it radiated intensive light, which made Doomdramon roar in pain.

"Damn, forgive me!" H-Kabuterimon grunted, "Giga Blaster!" he shouted, firing electric stream from his chest and arms. Again, the stream of electricity hit Doomdramon, causing him grunted in pain.

* * *

"What is this?" Taichi asked confusedly, "Maybe it is just me, but why the Lord of Millennium seems to order Doomdramon to take hit?"

"Yeah, and he seemed enjoy seeing Doomdramon in pain," Jyou added.

"Don't tell me…," Ken's eyes widened, "He intends to make us kill him!?"

"Damn it!" Daisuke cried, "V-mon‼"

* * *

"Take this, Speed Slashes‼" Dinobeemon shouted, performing quick slashes on Doomdramon, but it didn't budge him. Doomdramon used his gigantic hand to swipe Dinobeemon from him.

"Dinobeemon!" Valkyriemon shouted, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Dinobeemon smiled, "Let's finish this quickly!"

"Right! Raise, Laser Javelin‼" Valkyriemon shouted, firing laser beam on Doomdramon, which cause him roar in pain.

"Take this! Ravaged Thunder!" MegaSeadramon unleashed beam of electricity from his mouth, which cause Doomdramon cried in pain.

"Ivy Hugs!" Rosemon stabbed her Rose Rapier to the ground, causing multiple vines grew and strapped Doomdramon.

"Attack now!" she shouted.

"Leave this to me!" Phoenixmon shouted, "Life, be thy sustenance and destroy mine enemies! Sacred Shine‼"

Numerous streams of rainbow colored light rushed from Phoenixmon's wings. It concentrated into a rainbow colored orb before it unleashed several shockwaves toward Doomdramon. Doomdramon cried in pain as the light consumed him. After the light faded, Doomdramon was barely standing with almost all his armor charred and cracked. A lot of bruises were spotted in his dark blue skins.

"That's it!" WarGreymon shouted, "Now we need to–"

"Now, now, let's not be rushed, shall we?" Lord of Millennium intercepted, "Do you really think you would win?"

"What do you mean?" ClavisAngemon growled.

"You don't realize, do you?" Lord of Millennium's smile grew larger, "That I ordered him to take every attack without hesitation?"

"What!?" Valkyriemon asked in disbelief.

"Then it is over for you!" Lord of Millennium's voice echoed menacingly, "Doomdramon, give them a taste of your Cruel Ruins!"

Before anyone could act, Doomdramon roared loudly. He began to flap his wings and flew into the sky. After that, he transformed into a huge magic circle. The circle glowed brightly and then it unleashed numerous devastating stream of light. The force of this attack was so great that when it hit all Chosen Digimon, it immediately turned its surrounding into data.

As the light faded, all Chosen Digimon degenerated into their child forms, and they were barely conscious.

* * *

The Chosen Children couldn't believe what they saw. In just one attack, Doomdramon wiped their partners out.

"Hahaha, even the Chosen Children couldn't stop Doomdramon!" Lord of Millennium laughed manically.

"Crap, is this really the end for us?" Taichi asked helplessly.

"Coronamon, Lunamon, can't you two do something?" Yamato asked frustratingly.

"We want to, but unfortunately, we can't evolve," Lunamon shook her head, "After we released Rem and Shadow, we lost our ability to evolve!"

"Even we can, we are no match for Doomdramon as we could only reach our perfect forms," Coronamon gritted his teeth, "Damn it, this is a trap after all…"

"Now Doomdramon, I leave it to you to finish them all!" Lord of Millennium commanded, "I will return to Dark Area to prepare the demise of this world!" after he said it, he vanished.

Doomdramon's attention now shifted to the Chosen Digimon who were lying in the ground. He slowly approached them.

"Ugh, please stop it, V-mon!" Agumon cried weakly.

"Yeah, please get back to your sense!" Patamon pleaded.

"V-mon‼" suddenly Daisuke ran to the front of Doomdramon, "Please, I beg you, return to your old self!"

"Daisuke!" Ken cried, "Get back here! It's dangerous!"

"Daisuke, please stay back!" Wormmon cried, "V-mon, please don't do it‼" he bellowed loudly.

* * *

_Inside Doomdramon's (V-mon's) Mind…_

'_Yes, do it!' _a voice echoed menacingly, _'destroy them all! Let no one survive!'_

'_Yes, Master!' _Doomdramon (V-mon) remarked as he raised his claw to tear the creature in front of him.

Suddenly he heard a voice. It was Wormmon's voice. It called his name, pleading not to do it.

'_Just annoying brat,' _He thought, _'I would destroy everything. It is better for this world to perish anyway.'_

'_Is this what you really want?' _suddenly another voice echoed.

Doomdramon (V-mon) flinched as he heard this voice. It was different from the usual voice he heard. This one had kindness on it.

'_Don't you remember?' _that voice echoed again, _'That time, you sacrificed yourselves to protect them? After all that you did, is this really what you want to do?'_

All the sudden, memory flooded into him. When he first met Daisuke, when he helped the others to free Agumon from Digimon Kaiser, when Wormmon gave his life to help him defeat Chimeramon, when he and Wormmon jogress evolved in the first time, when they became Imperialdramon and defeated BelialVamdemon…

'_I must protect my friends, even if it cost my own life,'_ suddenly he also heard a familiar voice.

'_Please! Stop it! Stop hurting my friends!' _another familiar voice echoed.

'_You want to protect your friends, remember?' _the former voice echoed again.

'_What are you doing!?' _the first voice echoed again, _'Kill them already!'_

'_That's right!' _finally Doomdramon (V-mon) finally remarked, _'I want to protect them, because they are very dear to me! I won't let you control me anymore!' _He shouted, and then he fired his laser at the source of the first voice. It roared in pain before it vanished.

* * *

Daisuke closed his eyes, waiting for the worst on him. The others cried as Doomdramon lift his claws on him.

"Dai…su…ke," suddenly he heard a voice calling his name. He slowly opened his eyes to see that he was still in one piece.

"…V-mon?" Daisuke slowly raised his head to see the gigantic dragon. He was crying.

"Daisuke…, I'm…sorry…," He sobbed.

"It's okay, pal," Daisuke smiled, "We have already found a cure for you! We will change you back to your old self!"

Doomdramon smiled weakly, but suddenly he roared in pain. Daisuke could only watch in horror as a huge sword of darkness impaled Doomdramon's chest. Blood started to flow from the wound in his chest.

"…Pitiful," suddenly a cold voice echoed. Daisuke could see Millenniumon materialized in the sky.

"I have warned the Lord of Millennium that this could happen, but he just didn't take it seriously!" Millenniumon retorted, "It doesn't matter, though. I will finish this traitor and the Chosen now!"

"I won't let you do it‼" Doomdramon roared, although he was in great pain, "Negatron Laser‼"

Stream of black laser rushed from his back cannon toward Millenniumon. However, Millenniumon just disappeared and reappeared in the other place to avoid it.

"Do you really think you can defeat me!?" Millennium roared, "You will perish in my hand! Hyper Mugen Cannon‼"

Charging his cannon, Millenniumon fired huge energy wave at Doomdramon. Doomdramon roared in pain as the cannon hit him. As the smoke cleared, Doomdramon was lying in the ground, barely alive.

"No, V-mon!" Daisuke cried in horror seeing his best friend was dying.

"Now, be grateful that I won't let you die in vain!" Millenniumon roared, "You will become a part of me as soon as I absorb your data!"

* * *

Patamon could only watch in horror as Millenniumon slowly approached Doomdramon. He felt useless. He couldn't do anything at all to save his best friend.

'_Damn, if only I was stronger…,' _he thought.

Salamon was also tried so hard to stand. Even though she loved Patamon, she couldn't let V-mon die like this. He was her best friend too, even though sometimes he was really annoying.

Lopmon also felt the same. His savior was dying. He remembered when he as Magnamon purged him from the evil virus, but he couldn't do the same for him. Millenniumon was about to kill him, and yet he couldn't do anything.

'_Damn it, I couldn't save him!'_

Suddenly, the Eternal Orb glowed brightly. It began to levitate as it radiates its brilliance.

"What is this!?" Millennium roared as he covered his eyes.

'_Chosen Digimon, I have heard your wish!' _suddenly a voice echoed in Patamon's, Salamon's, and Lopmon's head, _'I will grant your wish! The power to protect everyone!'_

The Eternal Orb unleashed three streams of light. The light covered Patamon, Salamon, and Lopmon. They could feel their power was restored.

* * *

_Warp Evolution…_

Patamon warp-evolved… Seraphimon!

Salamon warp-evolved… Ophanimon!

Lopmon warp-evolved… Cherubimon!

* * *

The Chosen Children glanced in awe as Patamon, Salamon, and Lopmon evolved into their ultimate forms, especially Ophanimon. They thought Salamon would become Magnadramon, but instead, she turned into a beautiful angel with eight golden wings and two smaller ones. She carried Shining Javelin in her right hand and Beauty Golden Shield in her left hand.

"Ophanimon, the angel of Throne," Koushirou remarked as he scanned Ophanimon's data, "Together with Seraphimon and Cherubimon, they are known as the Three Great Angels that protect this world! Her special attacks are Eden's Javelin and Sefirot Crystal!"

"Hmph, so you managed to evolve to your ultimate stage!" Millenniumon roared, although his voice was trembilng, "Doesn't matter, I will finish you too!"

"Sinner, face your punishment!" Ophanimon shouted, "Eden's Javelin!"

A blast of light emerged from her Shining Javelin. Its power was so great that Millenniumon had to craft a barrier to deflect it, but it was managed to destroy the barrier and hit Millenniumon, who roared in pain.

"In the name of Shining Lord, may the Light of Judgment falls as rain upon these corrupt souls! Rest in peace, you who are burdened by sins! Judgment!" Seraphimon shouted, and like before, the sky opened and numerous column of light rained down. Millenniumon roared as the light pelted him.

"You! I will destroy you all‼" Millenniumon roared angrily, "Take this–"

"…I beg thee to allow me to serve His side. Resound, magnificent singing voice! Holy Song!" Ophanimon shouted as she began to sing a heavenly song.

"What is this!?" Millenniumon grunted as his body was paralyzed.

"This is… Holy Song!" Coronamon remarked in awe, "This is a legendary Angel Skill! Even the most malevolent Digimon will fear it, but in the same time, it will give power to the righteous ones!"

"Millenniumon, you will be purged by this holy light!" Cherubimon shouted, "Light of Redemption that guides us to daybreak, listen to my voice. Holy prayers will be spoken for eternity. Now let there be light! Grand Cross‼"

After he finished his chant, a huge magic seal formed below Millenniumon. A light pillar emerged from it, engulfing Millenniumon in light. Millenniumon roared in pain as the light consumed him.

"V-mon…," Ophanimon heard Daisuke's voice calling for his partner. Daisuke was crying, unable to do anything as his partner was dying. She could feel his sadness, which made her resolve to defeat Millenniumon.

"Millenniumon, you will not be forgiven!" Ophanimon exclaimed. Suddenly, she glowed in bright light, and she slowly rose as the sky behind her changed into stained glass windows, shining with bright light. Millenniumon froze in horror as he saw this.

"Divine judgment for an evil soul, Sacred Penance!" Ophanimon shouted. As she reached the top, she opened her hands, and a large burst of light in shape of cross was released from her. The wave of light rushed toward Millenniumon, and he roared as it tore through him.

"No‼" Millenniumon roared, "You win this time, but I will destroy you the next time we meet!" he shouted, and then he warped himself to avoid being deleted.

* * *

"Did we do it?" Taichi asked as Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon reverted into Patamon, Tailmon, and Lopmon.

"Yes, I think so!" Yamato nodded.

A bright light then emerged from the place where Doomdramon was lying. In the place where he was lying, V-mon emerged. He had a lot of bruises and burn mark spread on his body, and blood was flowing from the wound in his chest.

"V-mon!" Everyone rushed toward him.

"Ugh…" V-mon grunted in pain as he struggled to open his eyes, "…Everyone?"

"V-mon!" Patamon shouted, "Thank goodness!"

"I'm glad…that…you…guys…are…okay," he smiled as some part of his bodies began to disintegrate into data.

"Hang in there, V-mon! We will cure you!" Daisuke cried, "Someone, please cure him!"

"I will try!" Gomamon shouted, "Grant us the breath of life that shelters all creation! Revitalize!"

A giant glyph appeared below V-mon and it radiated its light. However, it didn't work as none of V-mon's wounds were cured.

"Water of life, please grant us thy protection! Healing Stream!" Lunamon cried. However, just like Gomamon's Revitalize, it didn't work.

"What should we do!?" Sora asked in frustration.

"He can be reborn, right!?" Takeru suggested.

"…I'm afraid he will not!" Coronamon shook her head, "With the mana flow stopped, there's no chance any dying Digimon to be reborn! He will be deleted forever!"

"So, what can we do!?" Daisuke shouted in frustration, "I can't let him die! We have finally got him back, and…"

"…I-I'm just…glad," V-mon remarked as he slowly closed his eyes, "That…I could die…when I am still myself…and knowing that you guys…are…safe…"

"No, V-mon‼" Daisuke cried hysterically as V-mon closed his eyes.

"V-mon! You can't die here!" Patamon sobbed, "We have finally got you back! You can't leave us!"

"Farewell…, my most cherished…," V-mon remarked, and then he stopped breathing. His data disintegration was also sped up.

"No‼" Daisuke bellowed hysterically as the other cried. They couldn't believe that V-mon, a happy-go-lucky Digimon, had to suffer and die like this.

Unknown to them, the Eternal Orb started to glow again. As they mourned over V-mon, it released a burst of light. Before long the light covered all of that area.

**-End of Chapter 4-**

* * *

Thank you for reading, and please review! :)


	6. Chapter 5: You will Never be Alone

**A/N: **Chapter 5 is here. Sorry for the delay!

Disclaimer: Digimon are the properties of Toei Animation. I don't anything at all. Also, references from some games might be found in this story (again, not enough to be regarded as crossover). All of them are the properties of their respective owners.

And as always, if you like this story, please leave me a review!

* * *

**Chapter 5 – You will Never be Alone**

_Eastern Hemisphere, Zao Ruins, Nighttime…_

"Ugh…," V-mon slowly opened his eyes, "Where am I?"

He tried to sit, and he began to inspect his body. He was surprised that all of his injuries were gone. He also noticed that the curse seal on his chest and arms was gone as well.

'_Am I still alive?' _V-mon questioned himself, _'Or maybe this is some kind of dream?'_

V-mon then began to inspect his surroundings. Judging from the look of his surroundings, it was a room in some kind of old ruins. It was strange though, that he was laid on a bed.

V-mon then tried to stand. As he stood, he noticed a door that was slightly opened. There was noise from inside.

Driven by curiosity, V-mon decided to peek at the door. He was very surprised that he saw all of his friends, including Daisuke, there.

'_So I am still alive, after all…,'_ V-mon thought, _'But how?'_

"…I still can't believe it!" he heard Taichi's voice, "That the light of Eternal Orb actually saved V-mon!"

"Yeah, I think it is really a miracle," Agumon nodded, "This is the first time I saw dying Digimon was brought back to life. Even more, it cured his wounds completely!"

"…It was strange, indeed," Takeru commented, "The Eternal Orb seems to have its own will as it only activated when we were on grave danger."

"Yes, I remember it too," Patamon nodded, "When we fought the Reaper, the Eternal Orb gave its power to me so I could evolve to Seraphimon. However, I don't understand why it didn't make all of us evolve…"

"Now that we have saved that blue brat, we still need to discuss how to save this world from ruins," Coronamon remarked, "With the disappearance of the Guardians, the mana flow has been stopped in all regions!"

"Yes, you mentioned it before," Taichi nodded, "About how Doomdramon killed the Guardians, and because of that, the mana distribution system has been broken."

V-mon's eyes widened as he heard Taichi's statement. Memory flooded on his head as he remembered how he as Doomdramon killed Qinglongmon, Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon, and Xuanwumon. That time, the Lord of Millennium commanded him to do so, and he blindly obeyed him because he was consumed by rage that he was born because the Guardians wanted to use him as their weapon of war.

"Taichi!" Agumon shouted, "You don't need to say it out loud! What if V-mon hears us?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," Taichi remarked, "I guess I got carried away."

"More importantly, I and Lunamon have instructed to our spies to gather information about…," Coronamon started to explain his plan while V-mon slowly closed the door.

He knew it. It was his fault that this world was in a verge of destruction. Even though the Lord of Millennium was controlling him that time, he did it by his own will because he resented the fact that his existence was never wanted.

'_So, this world falls into ruins because of me…,' _V-mon thought sadly, _'I am supposed to protect my friends, but instead, I endangered their lives…'_

V-mon then walked away from the door. He knew that he had committed an unforgivable sin, and he wondered whether he could live that burden.

'_Maybe I just as well disappear…,' _V-mon thought sadly, _'I am just a replica, after all. If they want, they can just create another one.'_

V-mon then exited the ruins. As the sadness engulfed him, he felt that all the hope had lost. He didn't want to live anymore. He just wanted to disappear.

* * *

_Outside the Ruins…_

"Lunamon-dono, we have gathered some information about the Great Tree!" Ninjamon reported.

"Great job, Ninjamon," Lunamon replied.

"We have learned that…" Ninjamon started to deliver his report, but as Lunamon listened to him, she noticed that V-mon came out from the ruins. At first, she thought he was just wanted to breathe fresh air, but he seemed to act strangely as he was getting farther and farther from the ruins.

"Ninjamon, would you please wait a while?" Lunamon asked, "I need to check something first!"

"Roger, Ma'am!" Ninjamon replied.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Lunamon asked. V-mon was startled as he turned to see Lunamon standing behind him.

"I…err…just want to get some fresh air…," V-mon remarked nervously.

"You know you are a bad liar, Vee!" Lunamon shook her head, "Just what are you thinking you are doing!?"

"I…," V-mon tried to think another lie.

"Don't tell me that you are going to run away!" Lunamon snapped at him, "After all the trouble we had to face just to rescue you, you want to run away!?"

"You don't understand!" suddenly V-mon shouted, "I have committed unforgivable sins! I have killed the Guardians!"

"B-but at that time, the Lord of Millennium was controlling you, so…" Lunamon tried to argue.

"No! I did it by my own will!" V-mon cried, "I was consumed by my rage, and…"

"…Don't tell me!" Lunamon's eyes widened, "That you know about that…"

"Yeah, the Lord of Millennium told me!" V-mon tried so hard to hold his tears, "That I am just a replica! That I am no more than the replacement for V-maru!"

Lunamon was shocked. She didn't expect V-mon to say something like that. He was clearly not himself at this moment.

"Listen, V-mon…," Lunamon tried to calm him.

"And there's more!" V-mon exclaimed, "I am the one who attacked Gabumon and Piyomon! I stole their data so that the Lord of Millennium could evolve me into Doomdramon!"

"But they will surely forgive you V-mon, so please calm down," Lunamon remarked, although she was slowly losing her patience.

"I also attacked my friends!" V-mon shouted, "I am supposed to protect them, and yet I almost killed them all!"

"V-mon…," Lunamon shook her head.

"That's why I thought it is better for me to disappear as well!" V-mon gritted his teeth, "I am a replica, after all! There are plenty of my replacements ready to take my place!"

After he said that, suddenly he felt pain on his cheek. Without warning, Lunamon slapped his face.

"So because of that, you want to run away…," Lunamon whispered dangerously, "I have had enough with your whining!"

"You don't understand how I suffered because of that!" V-mon bellowed. Tears began flowing from his eyes.

"Yeah, I don't understand, and I don't want to understand, either!" Lunamon shouted back, "But I DO understand how your friends risked their lives just to save you! And now look at you, you wanted to run away!"

"'I am only a replica', huh!?" Lunamon continue to shout, "So you thought because you are a replica, you can be replaced by the other replicas, huh!? Then tell me, why did they want to rescue you so badly!?"

"They don't know about that!" V-mon protested, "Once they know about it, they… they will abandon me!"

"You are wrong‼" Lunamon bellowed, "They have known about it, and yet they risked their lives to obtain the Eternal Orb to cure you! They even risked themselves against the Reaper so that you could be saved!"

"I…," V-mon couldn't say anything else.

"And after all they did to you, you wish to disappear because you want to escape from your responsibilities!?" Lunamon shouted angrily, "Then just disappear and don't ever come back, you ungrateful, coward Digimon! Listening to your yammering is just a waste of time!"

A long silence followed after Lunamon said that, until Ninjamon came closer to them.

"…Um, Lunamon-dono?" Ninjamon asked.

"…Oh yeah, I've done my business, now let's continue, shall we?" Lunamon remarked as she gained her composure, and then they left V-mon alone.

* * *

_Zao Ruins, Inner Chamber…_

"Bad news!" Hawkmon shouted as he broke into the meeting room, "V-mon has disappeared!"

"What!?" Daisuke asked in shock.

"We just passed his bedroom, and we didn't see him there, dagyaa!" Armadimon explained.

"V-mon, just what he thinks he is doing!?" Daisuke gritted his teeth.

"Don't worry, Daisuke!" Ken remarked gently, "He may still be here. We just need to search for him!"

"Yeah, Ken-chan is right!" Wormmon nodded, "We will search for him outside the ruins!"

"And we will search inside!" Taichi added, "We are counting on you!"

"Just leave it to us!" Patamon shouted, "Let's go!"

* * *

_Outside the Ruins…_

"V-mon, where are you?" Patamon shouted as he searched his friend outside the ruins.

"V-mon, please show yourselves!" Wormmon called his best friend.

"Everyone, come here!" Agumon shouted, "Look at these footprints!" he pointed footprints in the sand. The footprints were blurred, but they clearly indicated that the owner of them headed away from the ruins.

"Those are…V-mon's footprints!" Gabumon gasped, "Don't tell me that he want to run away!"

"That idiot!" Agumon gritted his teeth, "Just what does he think!? He could get captured again!"

"Then let's split and search for him!" Gomamon suggested, "I will go with Tentomon!"

"And I will go with Palmon!" Piyomon added.

"I will go with you, Agumon!" Gabumon remarked.

"And we will search together!" Hawkmon and Armadimon stated in unison.

"We will look for him together!" Terriermon, Lopmon, and Betamon remarked.

"Then Tailmon, Wormmon, and I will go together!" Patamon added, "Is that okay?"

"Okay!" Agumon nodded, "Now let's find him before something bad happens!"

* * *

"Just what V-mon thinks he is doing?" Patamon muttered as they searched for V-mon.

"I don't know…," Tailmon shook his head, "V-mon usually doesn't act this way."

"Don't tell me that he heard what we discussed before!" Wormmon gasped.

"You mean about the disappearance of the Guardians?" Patamon asked.

"Yes," Wormmon nodded, "Maybe that gave him this idea!"

"That idiot!" Tailmon gritted her teeth, "I bet he wanted to disappear because he thought we would blame this on him!"

"But we will never blame him!" Wormmon remarked in surprise.

"Maybe the Lord of Millennium has given some false ideas on him!" Patamon suggested, "Anyway, let's find him fast!"

"Right!" Both Tailmon and Wormmon answered in unison.

As they continued their search, they passed through an oasis. In there, Patamon heard a familiar voice.

"Everyone, do you hear that?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah, and it sounds like someone is crying," Tailmon nodded.

"That voice is V-mon's!" Wormmon shouted, "He is not far from here!"

"Come to think about it, you are right!" Patamon responded.

"Let's go!" Tailmon exclaimed.

* * *

As they entered the oasis, they saw the blue dragon Digimon there. He was alone there crying.

"V-mon!" Patamon called him.

V-mon turned to see Patamon, Tailmon, and Wormmon approaching him. He quickly stood and began to run.

"Why did he run away from us?" Wormmon asked as they chased him.

"I don't know!" Patamon shook his head.

"Anyway, let's split up!" Tailmon suggested, "We will trap him from three directions so he can't get away!"

"Good idea, Tailmon!" Patamon smiled, "Let's do it!"

So they split up and began to chase him. At first, they had some difficulty because V-mon was fast enough to dodge them. After some time, they successfully pinned him down.

"V-mon, can you explain why you are avoiding us?" Patamon asked.

"…," V-mon didn't answer.

"We are worried about you, V-mon!" Wormmon remarked anxiously, "Why did you run from us?"

"Please tell us, V-mon!" Tailmon pleaded, "We are here to help you!"

"…Why did you search for me?" finally V-mon talked, "I have caused a lot of trouble for you all! I have disturbed this world's balance!"

"Huh, but it is not your fault entirely, buddy!" Wormmon consoled him, "It is the Lord of Millennium's faults that…"

"It is entirely my fault!" V-mon bellowed, "The Lord of Millennium might have controlled me, but I did it by my own will!"

"…What do you mean by that?" Patamon asked in shock.

"I-I was so consumed in rage that I killed the Guardians!" V-mon cried as tears began to flow from his eyes, "Qinglongmon, Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon, and Xuanwumon, I killed them all!"

"…Don't tell me that the Lord of Millennium has given you some false ideas!" Tailmon shook her head.

"It is true!" V-mon shouted, "He told me that I am just a replica! That I was born so that they could use me in war!"

Patamon, Tailmon, and Wormmon shocked as they heard that. So it was true at all that the Lord of Millennium had exploited this fact to make V-mon obey him.

"And then, I almost kill you guys!" V-mon continued, "I attacked the people that I am supposed to protect!" he sobbed.

They felt silent as V-mon finished his story. For awhile, they could just hear V-mon crying.

"Listen, V-mon, I want you to know that we will never blame you for this!" Patamon tried to console him.

"Yeah, we failed to protect you from him at the first place," Wormmon nodded, "This fault will never be yours alone. We too, share the same fault as yours!"

"B-but you guys did nothing for this!" V-mon protested, "I have committed an unforgivable sin! I have caused the destruction of this world!"

"Like Wormmon said before, this fault will never be yours alone!" Tailmon remarked, "We will search some ways to remedy it! We will never let you take the burden alone!"

"We are really worried about you, V-mon!" Patamon patted V-mon's shoulder gently, "We are really happy knowing that you are back safely with us. Why did you choose to run from us?"

"I-I am just a replica!" V-mon muttered, "There are plenty of my replacements ready if I die anyway!"

"How could you say that!?" Wormmon shouted in surprise, "Do you know that we really care about you!?"

"But you don't know about my past!" V-mon objected again, "Once you know it, you will abandon me!"

"We have already known it even before you told us, V-mon!" Patamon remarked which made V-mon's eyes widened.

"Yeah, we learned it from the other replicas that survived," Tailmon added.

"Then, why did you save me?" V-mon asked, "You could probably create another one to replace me!"

"Maybe yes, but the other V-mon didn't know anything about us!" Patamon shouted, "The only V-mon I know is the one who fought bravely alongside us, the one who always cheers us when we were down!"

"Yeah, the only V-mon we care is you alone!" Wormmon emphasized, "How could you say that you can be replaced by someone we don't even know!?"

"While it may be true that you are a replica, it doesn't change the fact that you are our friend!" Tailmon remarked, "No matter how you were born or where you came from, V-mon is V-mon, right? It will never change our feeling towards you!"

"I-I…," V-mon sobbed.

"Yeah, Tailmon is right!" Patamon emphasized, "You are you, and you are our irreplaceable friend!"

"Listen V-mon, no matter how many burdens or sadness you have, let us bear them together!" Wormmon remarked, "We will never let you carry all the burdens by yourselves! After all, you are our friend!"

"That's right!" Patamon smiled, "We will save this world together! There has to be a way to save this world, and we will do it together!"

"Be strong, V-mon! No matter how heavy your burden is, we will always be here for you!" Tailmon smiled as she patted V-mon's shoulder gently.

"E-everyone…," V-mon remarked, and then he started to cry on Patamon.

"It's okay, Vee," Patamon remarked softly, "Everything will be fine!"

* * *

"Everyone, do you find him?" Agumon asked as they gathered.

"Nope, we can't find him anywhere!" Hawkmon shook his head.

"We have searched this area thoroughly, and we find nothing!" Tentomon remarked.

"Same as us, too!" Palmon added.

"But Patamon, Tailmon, and Wormmon haven't returned yet!" Lopmon stated.

"Speaking of whom, there they are!" Betamon pointed to the silhouettes that headed to them.

"Patamon!" Agumon shouted as he approached him, "Do you find him?"

"…About that," Patamon remarked as if he didn't find anything, "We found him!" then he smiled.

"Really?" All of them asked in unison, and their question was answered as they saw the blue dragon Digimon walked towards them with Wormmon and Tailmon.

"V-mon! Thank goodness you are okay!" Hawkmon shouted.

"We are worried about you, dagyaa!" Armadimon added.

"You are really a naughty boy, V-mon!" Agumon hit V-mon's head playfully, "You had us worrying you to death!"

"Everyone, I am sorry…," V-mon remarked.

"No need to apologize!" Agumon grinned, "You are back with us! That's the most important thing!"

"Yeah, let's tell the others that we have found him!" Gabumon remarked as they went inside the ruins.

* * *

_Zao Ruins, Inner Chamber…_

"V-mon!" Daisuke quickly ran to his partner as he saw him coming, "Thank goodness you are back!"

"Daisuke, I am sorry…," V-mon remarked apologetically.

"You are idiot!" Daisuke cried, "Do you know how I am worried about you? I almost lost you there and now…"

"Daisuke, everyone…," V-mon sobbed, "Please forgive me!"

"Hey, no need to apologize!" Taichi grinned, "You are back with us safely! That's enough for us!"

"Don't ever do it again, okay, V-mon?" Daisuke pleaded, "I don't want to lose you again!"

V-mon nodded lightly. Suddenly he saw Lunamon standing beside Coronamon, and surprisingly, he saw her smiling.

"Okay, I hate to interrupt this teary reunion, but we have some important news we want to share with you," Coronamon remarked, "Our spies have gathered some news about the Great Sol Tree!"

"That's great!" Takeru responded.

"Our spies have learned that when the Great Sol Tree withered 1,000 years ago, it didn't die completely," Lunamon explained, "A new seed formed from the Great Sol Tree, which will grow into a new Great Tree!"

"What is the Great Sol Tree thing?" V-mon asked Patamon.

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard about it, right?" Patamon replied, "I will explain it later to you. Now we should listen to their information first!"

"Unfortunately, our spies haven't gathered enough information about the Great Seed's whereabouts," Coronamon shook his head, "Our spies said that they will ask for Zenmaru's assistance for this matter!"

"Zenmaru?" Taichi asked, "You mean Goddramon?"

"Yeah, he has been informed about this matter, and he has agreed to help us!" Lunamon remarked, "But we need to defeat the Lord of Millennium first, otherwise the Great Seed won't grow, even if we can locate it!"

"Why?" Jyou asked.

"Because it won't grow if evil still lurks in this world according to Zenmaru," Lunamon answered.

"We also have some other information!" Coronamon added, "It's about him!" he pointed V-mon.

"Me?" V-mon blinked confusedly.

"Yeah, it's about you!" Coronamon continued, "Maybe it is not so important, but Zenmaru also told our spies why this brat was the one who was targeted by the Lord of Millennium!"

"So the Lord of Millennium has a reason why he targeted V-mon, huh?" Yamato asked.

"Correct!" Coronamon nodded, "According to Zenmaru, there is a prophecy in his clan stated that 1,000 years after the end of the Millennium War, the last member of his clan will create a great destruction of time!"

"Does he mean V-maru?" Koushirou asked, "But he is already dead!"

"It's clearly that the one in the prophecy is him!" Coronamon pointed V-mon, "Because it is stated that it would happen 1,000 years after the end of the Millennium War!"

"Wait a minute!" Ken interrupted, "So you mean that the birth of V-mon has been foretold before?"

"More or less," Coronamon remarked lightly, "However, the Lord of Millennium learned about that, so he set his eyes on this brat!"

"Is that all?" Iori asked.

"You don't get it, do you?" Coronamon asked impatiently, "While this prophecy can be interpreted that this brat will bring this world to its end, it may have another meaning!"

"Wait a minute!" Ken shouted, "When you say 'time', it could also mean 'millennium', then…"

"Yeah, it could mean that this brat is destined to defeat the Lord of Millennium," Coronamon nodded, "However, even Zenmaru was still in doubt about the true meaning of this prophecy."

"I…am destined to defeat the Lord of Millennium?" V-mon asked.

"Don't worry about it, Vee!" Patamon smiled, "Like I said before, this will not be your burden alone! We will do it together!"

"Thanks, Patamon!" V-mon smiled weakly.

"For now, these are all information we can gather," Lunamon remarked, "We will keep you informed about these matters as soon as our spies gather other information. And Koushirou-san, our spies will also update the information about the Millennium Army's movement for you!"

"Thank you, Lunamon, it will be very helpful!" Koushirou remarked.

"Then we should get some rest!" Taichi remarked, "Tomorrow we will continue our mission to liberate our Digital World!"

As they dismissed, V-mon noticed that Lunamon went outside alone.

"Daisuke, can I go outside for a while?" V-mon asked, "There's something I want to do now!"

"What?" Daisuke asked anxiously.

"It's okay, Daisuke!" V-mon smiled, "I promise I won't leave you anymore!"

"Okay then, please be careful, Vee!" Daisuke remarked as V-mon left him.

* * *

_Zao Ruins Entrance…_

"Umm, Lunamon, can I talk to you?" V-mon asked as he joined Lunamon.

"…," Lunamon didn't answer.

"Umm, I am sorry about our spat before," V-mon scratched his head, "I guess you are right… I was just a coward who wanted to escape my burden!"

"…But you didn't run away anyway," Lunamon started to talk, "What made you change your decision?"

"You were right, Lunamon!" V-mon remarked, "My friends really care about me, even though I am just a replica! You were right when you slapped me before!"

"…Actually, I didn't mean to slap you, V-mon," Lunamon remarked, "I just can't stand anymore seeing you acted that way! I am sorry about it!" she bowed a little

"No, you are right!" V-mon shook his head, "That time, I acted like a spoiled brat!"

"I'm glad that you finally understand, V-mon!" Lunamon smiled, "No matter how you were born, you are an original to all of us! Even though you are a replica, all the memories you have shared with all your friends are original! No one can replace them!"

"Lunamon…," V-mon whispered.

"Just remember, V-mon, you are not alone," Lunamon remarked, "You have friends that will always support you!"

As she said that, V-mon realized that she was very sweet, especially under the moonlight. V-mon blushed as his cheeks turned a bit red.

"Huh, what's wrong, V-mon? Are you having a fever?" Lunamon asked seeing V-mon's cheeks were red.

"N-no, let's go inside, shall we?" V-mon asked, "I can't let Daisuke worrying about me again!" V-mon shouted as he quickly ran inside.

Lunamon couldn't say anything seeing V-mon's behavior. She then followed him inside.

**-End of Chapter 5-**

* * *

Thank you for reading, and please leave a review! :)


	7. Chapter 6: Awakening

**A/N: **Here comes chapter 6. I was really afraid that I couldn't upload this on time. Thankfully, a sudden idea came to me, so I can finish it on time.

As always, I will list the list of new character here and their localization name:

Jureimon (Jpn) - Cherrymon (localization)

I am really sorry if there are some grammatical errors on this chapter. I am a non native speaker, but I will try my best to avoid making too many grammatical mistakes. Thank you for your patience.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Digimon are the properties of Akiyoshi Hongo and Toei Animation.

Lastly, if you have time, please review to tell me how you think about this story. I will accept any kind of reviews, and I don't mind being criticized. After all, this story is not perfect, and I am looking forward to improve it. So, please review! :)

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Awakening**

_Zao Ruins, Nighttime…_

"Ah, there you are!" Daisuke remarked as he saw V-mon returned.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Daisuke," V-mon scratched his head.

"It's okay, buddy," Daisuke smiled, "I'm just glad that you are back to your old self!"

"Umm, Daisuke, can I ask you something?" V-mon asked.

"Sure, just say it!" Daisuke replied.

"Actually, I'm just wondering…," V-mon remarked, "When we first met, if you knew that I am a replica, would you become my partner?"

"Of course I am!" Daisuke replied, a bit surprised that his partner asked that, "Even though you are replica, for me, you are the only V-mon that I know! No one can replace you!"

"Thanks," V-mon smiled weakly, "Actually, I just want to confirm it, because the Lord of Millennium gave me a lot of false ideas…"

"Grr, that jerk!" Daisuke gritted his teeth, "I will never forgive him for everything he did to you! Don't worry, Vee, if by any chance everyone else rejects you because you are a replica, I will always be with you, so don't worry!"

"Thank you, Daisuke!" V-mon smiled, "Friends forever?" he stretched his hand.

"Friends forever!" Daisuke took his partner's hand, "Now, let's sleep! Man, how I missed sleeping together with you!" he added.

V-mon laughed hearing his partner's statement, and then they went sleeping together.

* * *

_Dark Area, Millennium Castle…_

"So Doomdramon was defeated…," Lord of Millennium remarked.

"That blue brat was no good at all!" Millenniumon retorted, "Even though he was under your control, his conscience was still alive!"

"So that's how he broke out from the curse seal…," the Lord of Millennium nodded lightly, "Indeed he is an interesting Digimon after all…"

"So, what's your plan?" Millenniumon asked, "Surely you have a backup plan to destroy those annoying Chosen Children!"

"Don't worry about that!" the Lord of Millennium smiled maliciously, "Even though Doomdramon has fallen, I have already retrieved what I want!"

"You mean the four elemental orbs?" Millenniumon asked. There was a strange tone in his voice.

"Yes, and believe me, with those, Doomdramon had exhausted his usefulness. He is no longer my concern!" Lord of Millennium smiled eerily.

"But how about that prophecy?" Millenniumon protested, "Surely you aware that it could mean…"

"We don't have to worry about that," Lord of Millennium remarked evilly, "Being a replica, his data is not stable at all. In addition, I have put a safety measurement on him while we captured him. Rest assured that he is no longer any threat to us!"

Millenniumon didn't say anything else. He just nodded a bit and then disappeared.

* * *

_Zao Ruins, Resistance Base…_

"Leomon, how are the refugees' condition?" Coronamon asked.

"They are fine, thanks to the Chosen Children!" the lion-man Digimon replied, "We managed to evacuate them just in time!"

"Thank goodness!" Lunamon remarked, "We were afraid we were too late! It seems that Ninjamon brought the news just in time!"

"Now what should we do?" Piccolomon asked, "Since the Millennium Army took over this area, we always live under terror of them! Just where is Qinglongmon anyway? Why hasn't he helped us?"

"…You haven't heard yet?" Coronamon asked, "That Qinglongmon has been killed?"

"What!?" Ogremon asked in disbelief, "Is that even possible?"

"Yes, it is!" Lunamon shook her head, "Do you notice that everything went barren lately? The absence of Qinglongmon has made the mana flow stop in this area, and soon, this area will fall into complete ruins!"

"You can't be serious!" Leomon growled, "Qinglongmon has been killed? You have to be kidding!"

"Yeah, Qinglongmon is so strong," Kentarumon added, "How could someone kill him?"

"It is true!" Coronamon remarked impatiently, "That brat–"

"That's enough, Bro!" Lunamon scolded him, "We have agreed that we will not mention it anymore, haven't we?"

"Yes, but–," Coronamon tried to argue, but his sister glared dangerously at him, which left him no choice other than to keep quiet.

"The truth is that the Lord of Millennium is behind Qinglongmon's death!" Lunamon explained, "And the same goes to Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon, and XuanWumon! With the absence of the Guardians, this Digital World is on a verge of its destruction!"

"So what should we do?" Elecmon asked.

"Yeah, we can't let our world fall into ruins!" Leomon added.

"Actually, we have an idea about how to save this world, and believe me, we have shared it to the Chosen Children as well," Coronamon remarked, "However, we still don't have enough information about it!"

"Just tell us already!" Ogremon retorted, "We will help if we can!"

"Fine, do you know anything about the Great Sol Tree?" Lunamon asked.

"Nope, haven't heard about it!" Piccolomon shrugged.

"It is not surprising at all, because we have just discovered it recently," Coronamon remarked, "This information is a top secret one, but we need all the help we can gather, so we will tell you about this!"

Coronamon and Lunamon then proceeded to explain the Great Sol Tree to Leomon and the others. They explained about Origin's request to restore it, and how it could save the world.

"Hmm, if it is about a tree, we might as well ask Jureimon!" Leomon remarked, remembering about the elder tree Digimon in Misty Forest.

"Yeah, Jureimon is the wisest among the Digimon that lived in the forest. Perhaps he can tell us more about it!" Piccolomon nodded.

"We will try to ask him about the Great Sol Tree!" Elecmon remarked, "Please continue to assist the Chosen Children for us!"

"If we learn anything about it, we will inform it to you immediately!" Kentarumon added.

"Okay then, we will be looking forward to hear some good news from you!" Lunamon smiled.

* * *

_Outside Zao Ruins…_

"Patamon, can't sleep yet?" Tailmon asked as she saw Patamon looking at the night sky.

"Yeah, maybe I am just too excited that V-mon finally returns to his old self," Patamon scratched his head.

"I'm glad that we can help him to realize that we do care about him," Tailmon smiled.

"Yes, however something bothers me now," Patamon shook his head, "We have saved him, but how we can save our world?"

"I see, so that's why you can't sleep?" Tailmon asked.

"Maybe yes, because I want everybody to be happy," Patamon replied, "How can everyone be happy if we can't save this world?"

"…You are very kind, Patamon," Tailmon smiled.

"D-do you really think so?" Patamon asked. He flushed a little.

"Yes, there's no doubt of it!" Tailmon nodded, "You always care about everyone's happiness! I think because of that, we can convince V-mon not to run away!"

"Umm, Tailmon, can I tell you something?" Patamon asked as he blushed madly.

"Yes, of course!" Tailmon chuckled a little. For her, seeing Patamon blushed madly like that was very cute.

Patamon gathered his courage, and then he finally remarked, "I love you, Tailmon! And I do mean it! You are my most important Digimon!"

Tailmon blushed madly as Patamon confessed his love to her. She couldn't think anything to answer it. It was true that she liked him a lot; however, she still couldn't describe this feeling.

"I-I…," Tailmon was at loss of words.

"It's okay, Tailmon," Patamon smiled, "You don't have to answer me now. I'm sure the answer whether you will accept me or not has been there in your heart. You just need time to realize it!"

"Patamon…," Tailmon whispered.

"Let's sleep, shall we?" Patamon remarked as he kissed Tailmon in her cheek, "We need to save our power to liberate our world! After all, the future of our world depends on us!"

"Y-yes, let's go!" Tailmon remarked, and she followed Patamon to the Zao Ruins.

* * *

_Zao Ruins, next morning…_

"Everyone, are you ready?" Taichi asked as all of them gathered at the entrance of Zao Ruins.

"Yeah, let's continue to liberate our world from Millennium Army!" Yamato responded.

"So, where should we go?" Jyou asked, "Do we still need to liberate this hemisphere?"

"Hmm, according to the Millennium Army's movement, I think there are no more Millennium Army left it this area," Koushirou remarked as he checked his laptop.

"Really? They must think that Doomdramon was actually able to defeat us!" Daisuke remarked, but seeing his partner frowned, he quickly added, "S-sorry about it, Vee! I didn't mean to remind you about it!"

"Nope, it's okay…," V-mon shook his head, although he kept frowning.

"…Then, where should we go now?" Miyako asked.

"Judging from their army's movement, I think the South Hemisphere has the least number of them compared to the other two regions," Koushirou explained, "I don't know though, whether it is a trap or not."

"Yeah, you could be right," Iori nodded, "The last time was a trap. Hopefully this time is not!"

"And yeah, according to this, most of Millennium Army resides in the South Hemisphere are adult level, while some of them are perfect level. Their leader, though, is an ultimate level," Koushirou added.

"Who is that?" Ken asked.

"Dorbickmon," Koushirou replied.

"Who is he?" Agumon asked, "I have never heard that name before."

"I haven't, either," Gabumon shrugged.

"Yeah, his data is incomplete here," Koushirou scratched his head, "However, it is shown here that he leads dragon army."

"That should be easy!" Taichi grinned, "WarGreymon can make use of his Dramon Destroyer against them!"

"Still, we need to do it carefully," Yamato remarked, "Our enemy is not a pushover! They might plan something against us!"

"Yeah, let's do it!" Takeru nodded.

"Everyone, gather here!" Lunamon commanded as she held a teleport stone, and then all of them vanished in bright light.

* * *

_South Hemisphere, Phoenix's Gate…_

"They are coming…," Millenniumon remarked.

"You mean the Chosen Children?" a red dragon-man Digimon covered in armor, Dorbickmon, asked. He also had a pair of wings attached to his back.

"Yes, I know that you have been very eager to face them," Millenniumon smiled maliciously.

"Leave them to me, Millenniumon-sama!" Dorbickmon sneered, "I will crush them with my dragon army!"

"Then have fun!" Millenniumon smirked evilly, and then he vanished.

"Chosen Children, you will perish in my crucible fire!" Dorbickmon shouted, and then he left.

* * *

_South Hemisphere…_

In the middle of barren land, a column of light appeared. As it dimmed, the Chosen Children and their partners, including Coronamon and Lunamon appeared.

"…Is this the South Hemisphere?" Taichi asked, "It looks so different than the last time we were here."

"Of course! How can you forget?" Coronamon shrugged as it was very obvious, "The mana flow here is stopped too, so it is not surprising that this area also falls into ruins!"

"This area, no, all the Digital World have fallen into ruins as we speaks," Lunamon added, "However, I can't believe that it took only several days for an area to become like this."

"The mana flow must be very important for maintaining life," Jyou shook his head, "C'mon guys, we need to liberate this area as soon as possible!"

"Oh, is that so?" a cold, cruel voice echoed.

"Watch out, everyone!" Patamon remarked cautiously, "Our enemies are approaching!"

Soon, a horde of Dragon Digimon appeared before them, consisting mostly of Sealsdramon, Flarerizamon, Darkrizamon, Airdramon, Devidramon, and Brachiomon. A Tankdramon, Megadramon, and Gigadramon were also present there. They appeared to be the leader of the army. The Millennium Army completely outnumbered the Chosen Children and their partners.

"Dorbickmon-sama was right, after all!" Megadramon smirked evilly, "Dragon army, charge‼"

"Crap, we are surrounded!" Taichi grunted, "Everyone, get ready!" he raised his Digivice.

* * *

_Evolution…_

Agumon warp evolved…WarGreymon!

Gabumon warp evolved…MetalGarurumon!

Piyomon warp evolved…Phoenixmon!

Tentomon warp evolved…H-Kabuterimon!

Gomamon warp evolved…Plesiomon!

Palmon warp evolved…Rosemon!

Betamon evolved…Seadramon! Seadramon super evolved…MegaSeadramon!

Terriermon evolved…Galgomon! Galgomon super evolved…Rapidmon!

Lopmon evolved…Turuiemon! Turuiemon super evolved…Antiramon!

Hawkmon evolved…Aquilamon!

Armadimon evolved…Ankylomon!

Patamon evolved…Angemon!

Wormmon evolved…Stingmon!

* * *

"We should do it too!" Daisuke shouted, "Are you ready, V-mon?"

"Yes!" V-mon clenched his fists, however as Daisuke's D-3 shone, V-mon didn't evolve.

"What's wrong? I can't evolve!" V-mon shook his head confusedly.

"Let's try it again!" Daisuke tried to encourage his partner.

"V-mon evolved…V-mon!" V-mon cried, but he still couldn't evolve.

"Daisuke, V-mon, just stay back!" Ken shouted, "Forcing him to evolve won't do the trick! Damn it, I guess we have to do it, Stingmon!"

"Yeah," Stingmon nodded.

"We should do it too!" Miyako shouted, "Hikari-chan?"

"Ready!" Hikari responded.

"Takeru-san, let's do it!" Iori remarked.

"Right!" Takeru smiled.

* * *

_Evolution…_

Aquilamon…Tailmon…jogress evolved…Silphymon! Silphymon ultimate evolved…Valkyriemon!

Ankylomon…Angemon…jogress evolved…Shakkoumon! Shakkoumon ultimate evolved…ClavisAngemon!

Stingmon super evolved…Dinobeemon!

* * *

"Everyone, let's go!" WarGreymon shouted.

"Yeah, let's finish this quickly!" MetalGarurumon nodded.

"Hmph, think you can take this!?" Megadramon roared, "Flarerizamon, Darkrizamon, use your fire breath!"

At sudden, all Flarerizamon and Darkrizamon breathed their fire at the Chosen Digimon. WarGreymon quickly enlarged his Brave Shield to cover them from the giant stream of fire.

"Brachio Bubble‼" All Brachiomon breathe streams of bubble jet at the Chosen Digimon.

"Raging Tornado‼" All Airdramon flapped their wings vigorously to whip a huge tornado.

"Crap! We should do something!" H-Kabuterimon shouted.

"Leave this to me!" Valkyriemon responded, "Let see how this work! Fenrir Sword!" she shouted, and then she charged at super speed to the giant typhoon. She did some maneuvering, and then she slashed the typhoon multiple times, forcing it to disintegrate into smaller ones.

"I will handle the bubble!" Plesiomon shouted, "Water Tail Jet!" he shouted, and stream of water rushed from his tail, quickly wiped all the Brachio Bubble.

"Take this! Thunder Explosion!" H-Kabuterimon stabbed his horns into ground, and a huge lightning explosion emerged from into. The explosion was able to devour some Brachiomon.

"My turn!" Phoenixmon shouted, "Starlight Explosion‼" she flapped her wings vigorously, sending bright powder into air, which quickly exploded as it came in contact with several Airdramon and Devidramon, and thus destroying them.

"Thunder Javelin!" stream of electricity rushed from MegaSeadramon's horn, consuming any Sealsdramon it hit.

"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon fired several missiles, and it destroyed some Devidramon.

"Treasure Axe!" Antiramon threw his axe like a tomahawk. It sliced every Digimon on its way.

"Cross Grace Freezer!" MetalGarurumon shouted. At once, all weapon compartments inside him opened, and numerous missiles were launched from them. The missiles froze some more Sealsdramon as they hit them.

"Gaia Force!" WarGreymon shouted, charging a huge energy ball and threw it to some Flarerizamon. It quickly blasted them as it came in contact.

"Divine Spears, run mine enemies through!" ClavisAngemon shouted, summoning numerous of spears of light. It quickly flew into several Darkrizamon, destroying them in process.

"Damn it, they just won't quit, will they?" Dinobeemon shouted frustratingly as he swiped some Devidramon with his Speed Slashes, but some others just reappeared.

"Just how many backups they have anyway?" Rosemon cried as she destroyed several Sealsdramon with her Thorn Whip, but the others just appeared out of nowhere.

* * *

"Why…why I can't evolve?" V-mon asked as he watched his friends protecting him and the Chosen Children.

"It's okay, maybe you hadn't fully recovered, Vee!" Daisuke consoled his partner.

"No, I feel great today!" V-mon protested.

"Don't tell me…," Ken shook his head, "Koushiro-san, can you scan V-mon? I'm afraid that the Lord of Millennium has done something to him."

"Uh, sure," Koushirou replied as he scanned V-mon.

"How is he?" Ken asked, "Do you find something wrong with him?"

"This…," Koushirou's eyes widened, "You are right, Ken! Looks like the Lord of Millennium really screwed V-mon's data! He erased V-mon's ability to become XV-mon!"

"What!?" Daisuke shouted in surprise.

"And he can't Armor Evolve, either. All the Digimental have been fused into Eternal Orb," Iori remarked.

"Then what should I do?" V-mon asked hopelessly, "I can't evolve, so I can't fight, then what the use of having me?"

"Please, not that again!" Lunamon scolded him, "You have promised me not to whine like that again!"

"But…," V-mon tried to protest, but Lunamon glared at him dangerously, so he decided it was better to keep quiet.

"V-mon, don't worry!" Koushirou smiled, "I will try my best to restore your ability. Just give me some time, OK?"

"Yeah, you are our friend! We won't abandon you just because you can't evolve!" Taichi grinned.

"Everyone…," V-mon tried so hard to hold his tears.

"Now come on, since when you become a crybaby like that?" Daisuke joked.

"I'm not!" V-mon shouted. His face was completely red now.

"Haha, of course not!" Daisuke laughed, "Just don't give up, Vee! We will always be with you!"

* * *

"Hmm, they could hold themselves real good," Megadramon remarked as he saw the Chosen Digimon blocked Flarerizamon and Darkrizamon's flame breath, "I guess that's why they are threats to us!"

"Megadramon, what should we do?" Tankdramon asked, "We can't defeat them with this kind of method!"

"Yeah, even though we completely outnumber them, they have some strong Ultimate Digimon!" Gigadramon added.

"Oh, but I see a weak point!" Megadramon smirked evilly as he turned his attention to the Chosen Children, V-mon, Coronamon, and Lunamon, "What if we attack the Chosen Children?"

"Their partners will surely cover them!" Tankdramon protested.

"Not if we can cause some distraction!" Megadramon responded, "Flarerizamon and Darkrizamon can summon Fire Wall to separate the Chosen Children and their partners, and then Airdramon and Brachiomon can use their attacks to distract the Chosen Digimon. At the same time, Sealsdramon and Devidramon will strike the Chosen Children!"

"Brilliant! I just love your evil plan!" Gigadramon smirked evilly, "I just can see how we deliver the Chosen Children's heads to Dorbickmon-sama!"

"Now, Flarerizamon, Darkrizamon, use your flame breath on them!" Tankdramon shouted.

At once, all Flarerizamon and Darkrizamon unleashed intense fire from their mouth. The Chosen Digimon quickly flew and jumped to avoid it.

"Keep going!" Megadramon shouted, and soon the fire became a wall of fire.

"Sealsdramon, Devidramon! Strike them!" Gigadramon commanded. All Sealsdramon and Devidramon quickly moved toward the Chosen Children.

"Damn it, they are targeting our partners!" WarGreymon shouted.

"Let's go help them!" MetalGarurumon cried.

"Not so fast! Airdramon, Brachiomon, attack‼" Tankdramon commanded. Instantly, all Airdramon flapped their wings, and countless shards were unleashed into the Chosen Digimon, while all Brachiomon blocked their ways to the Chosen Children.

"Damn it! Taichi!" WarGreymon shouted as he dodged Brachiomon's ramming attacks.

* * *

"Damn it! We are surrounded!" Taichi gritted his teeth as they saw Sealsdramon and Devidramon moving toward them. They couldn't move back either, as the wall of fire prevented their movement to their partners.

"Now Chosen Children, say goodbye to your life! Charge!" Gigadramon commanded.

"Not when we are still here!" Coronamon shouted.

"Yeah, don't even think hurting them!" Lunamon added.

"Hah, what can you two children do?" Gigadramon roared.

"Then we will show you!" Coronamon cried, "I called upon the light of heaven. By the right of pact maker, I summon thee. Come forth, Rem!"

"I call upon the envoy of darkness. By the right of pact maker, I summon thee. Come forth, Shadow!" Lunamon shouted.

An angelic figure and a dark creature covered in darkness appeared. They started to attack Sealsdramon and Devidramon. However, they were still badly outnumbered.

"Chosen Children, die!" several Devidramon managed to break free from Rem and Shadow and started moving towards the Chosen Children.

"I won't let you!" V-mon shouted as he advanced to protect them.

"V-mon!" Daisuke cried.

"I will protect you…with my life!" he shouted.

V-mon then launched himself like a rocket to one Devidramon. The evil dragon Digimon just used his hand to parry V-mon's attack then swiped him away.

"I won't give up!" V-mon cried, "Take this, V-Head Drop!" he jumped high, and then launched himself like a meteor to Devidramon. Amazingly, it worked as the said Devidramon was deleted.

"Death behind!" Suddenly a Sealsdramon appeared behind V-mon. He slashed V-mon from behind, making him fell into his knees. The Devidramon didn't waste this good chance and used his Crimson Claw to swiped V-mon.

"No, V-mon‼" Daisuke cried as he ran to him. V-mon was quite battered with a lot of wounds on his body.

"Now it's time for you two to die!" Devidramon roared as he raised his claws on V-mon and Daisuke.

'_Now I have done for,' _V-mon thought, _'Damn it, if only I was stronger!'_

At sudden, a bright light emerged from him. It quickly devoured the said Devidramon and made some of them retreated. V-mon's eyes widened as a familiar figure materialized in front of him. He was just like him. In fact, he was similar to him in every aspect.

"Am I dreaming again?" V-mon punched himself in face, "Why do I see myself like this?"

"No, you are not dreaming, Vee!" he could hear Daisuke speak beside him, "Who are you?"

"_I am called V-maru," _the V-mon's clone remarked.

"V-maru? Is that even possible?" Daisuke's eyes widened, "I thought you have died 1,000 years ago!"

"_Yes and no," _V-maru remarked softly, _"It is true that I have died 1,000 years ago, however, I refused to die, so my spirit keeps living on Vee's body."_

"How can it be?" V-mon asked confusedly, "I never sense you before, and I'm just your replica! How could you live within me?"

"_Vee, you are the one who shared the same data as me," _V-maru remarked, _"In fact, you are not a replica as you thought. When I died, all of my data was transferred to you. That makes you my reincarnation!"_

"I am not a…replica?" V-mon asked, and V-maru nodded.

"_Now that I have awakened, I don't have much time left!" _V-maru continued, _"I will awaken your true power! Knowing that you will fulfill the duty I failed to do, I can finally rest in peace."_

Instantly, V-maru turned into two orbs of light. One of them returned to V-mon, and the other one flew to Daisuke's D-3. V-mon could feel that the light reenergized him.

"This…," Daisuke was at loss of words as he saw a strange symbol appeared on his D-3.

"_Now you can evolve to your true evolution line!" _V-maru's voice echoed, _"Be brave, my reincarnation, and protect this world and the ones you loved!"_

"V-maru…," V-mon closed his eyes, "Thank you!"

"V-mon, are you ready?" Daisuke shouted.

"Yeah!" V-mon responded chirpily.

"Let's show them your true power!" Daisuke exclaimed. At once, V-mon was surrounded by the light of evolution.

* * *

_Evolution…_

V-mon evolved…V-dramon!

* * *

"He evolved!" Ken remarked in awe. Replacing V-mon, a muscular blue dragon stood there. He had a horn on his nose and two more horns where his ears should be. In his chest, there was a big V symbol.

"Now let's take care of them!" the newly evolved V-dramon shouted, and then he joined Shadow and Rem battling Sealsdramon and Devidramon.

**End of Chapter 6**

Thank you for reading, and please review! :)


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